Red Brawler
by Grimm48
Summary: Ryan doesn't run away from social services and gets put into the foster care system, he gets moved around a lot and ends up in Starling city where he gets too old for the system and stays in the city. He'll get a job from Laurel and will later on replace Roy as Olivers apprentice. Pairing: Ryan x Thea
1. Prologue

Red Brawler

AN: disclaimer: I don't own O.C. California or Arrow.

Summary: Ryan doesn't run away from social services and gets put into the foster care system, he gets moved around a lot and ends up in Starling city. He will later on replace Roy as Olivers apprentice. Pairing: Ryan x Thea

Ryan Atwood a well build blonde haired sixteen year old teen is walking through the glades on his way from the orphanage to public school. Ryan has lived in the glades for about 2 month ever since he got put into the foster care system, after his mother abandoned him and the public defender from Orange County couldn't get his wife to come around on adopting him. The glades are no new environment for Ryan since he grew up in Chino which is almost the same except on a bit smaller scale, so Ryan knows to stay out of trouble to the best of his abilities and often takes an unused shortcut to get to school.

But this day the alley he is making his way through is not deserted, instead there is a woman in her late twenties getting assaulted by three gangbangers. Deciding that he should help her out, because of his moral code and the possibility that the three guys won't just be satisfied with her money but may also want to sexually assault her Ryan goes up to the four and says "Hey, leave her alone."

"Get outta here kid before we decide to teach you to mind your own business." The oldest one of the robbers says.

"Look, take her money for all I care but then just leave her alone." Ryan says clearly not impressed by the threat of the gangbanger.

"Like my buddy here told you mind your own business kid." another gangbanger says.

"Here is all I have on me." Laurel Lance a public defender says taking out her money and handing it to the oldest man.

"Who says that we only want your money? You're quite the looker." The older man says leering at her.

"OK, one last warning. Leave her alone." Ryan says annoyed at the robber ignoring him.

"Or what?" the last member of the group asks.

"This." Ryan says and punches the man in the face breaking his nose.

"OK, now you're gonna get it." The oldest man says and the three of them charge at him and start punching him.

"Get outta here." Ryan yells at the woman, who instead of running is coming up behind one of the guys hitting him.

The older man takes out a knife and stabs Ryan in the stomach, while Ryan is punching the last man.

"Ugh." Ryan grunts and takes a few steps back, meanwhile Laurel has gotten the attention of one of the guys and is incapacitating him with a technique her father taught her.

"Not so tough now huh punk?" The oldest taunts.  
"Let's see how tough you are without your knife." Ryan says and tackles him to the ground, making him loose the knife.

Ryan then starts to punch the man repeatedly in the face, even after he clearly passed out.

Deciding that the guy had enough Ryan stands up and looks at the last standing member of the group and says "You still want some?" dangerously.  
The man takes off running leaving his comrades behind.

"Thank you for your help, are you OK?" Laurel asks going over to the teen and then seeing him bleeding from his stomach.

"Oh my god, we gotta get you to a hospital, that looks deep." Laurel says and takes out her phone, calling an ambulance and her father, so that he can send officers to arrest her assaulters.

"I can't afford the hospital, just get me bandage and I'll be fine." Ryan says slumping over slightly holding his wound, now that the adrenaline is leaving his body.

"Don't worry about that, I'll pay the bill, I owe you that much at least." Laurel says and soon the ambulance as well as the officers show up and Laurel tells the officers what happened while the paramedics take Ryan to the hospital.  
After she finished reporting the crime to the cops Laurel takes a cab to the hospital, where she informs them who she's looking for and gets lead to Ryan who has gotten stitches and is waiting for Laurel to pay the bill so he can leave.

"So, what did the doc say?" Laurel asks Ryan, taking a seat next to him.

"Nothing, just that I should take it easy for a few days." Ryan replies.

"OK, well I'm gonna pay the bill and then we can go grab a bite to eat if you want." Laurel says getting up and going to pay the medical bill.

"Alright." Ryan replies.

A few minutes later Laurel walks over to Ryan and says "Come on, it's taken care of let's go. By the way my name is Laurel Lance."

"Ryan Atwood." Ryan replies shaking her hand.

"Thanks again for saving me back there, not many people would have stepped up to help me." Laurel says impressed at his courage.

"Well, they were no real threat, just some scum trying to intimidate others." Ryan says emotionlessly.

"So, where do you live? Want me to call your parents?" Laurel offers on their way to big belly burgers.

"Orphanage, my Mom abandoned me and my other relatives are in prison." Ryan informs her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Laurel says sadly.

"Don't be, I'm used to being on my own, my mother barely ever behaved like one anyway." Ryan tells her not letting his emotions show.

The two of them get to the restaurant and Laurel orders them something to eat and they sit down in one of the booths.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you for saving me from being raped?" Laurel asks gratefully.

"Not unless you know someone who would hire someone underage." Ryan says not really liking his chances in terms of a career.

"Well I think we are looking for a legal assistant in the public defenders office I work at, I can ask them if they'd hire you despite your young age and put in a good word for you." Laurel offers.

"Really? Well, I don't care what I do as long as I can move out of the orphanage and have some money left for groceries." Ryan replies not getting his hopes up.

"Well enjoy your burger, I'll call the office and see what the situation is." Laurel says and gets up to call her work, meanwhile Ryan is enjoying his burger, watching Laurel closely, not trusting her since he never had anyone be nice to him without having their own gain in mind.

About 5 minutes later Laurel comes back over to Ryan smiling at him telling him "Well if you want to, you can take the job. My boss approved it and as for your living situation, if you want you can live with me for the time being."  
"What? Why would you do that for me? What's in it for you?" Ryan questions her.

"Nothing, I just want to show you that I'm grateful and I think there is potential in you, so why not try and nurture it." Laurel replies confused by Ryans unbelieving expression.

"Well I guess I have no reason not to trust you. I'll take you up on that offer, but I'll try to get out of your hairs as soon as possible, I don't like being a charity case." Ryan tells her.

"OK, come on then I'll show you your new workplace and let's get to know one another, now that we're gonna be roomies.

2 years later, Ryan graduated, is still working at Laurels office and the two of them have grown closer. They see each other as sibling figures and Ryan also has a good relationship with her father Detective Lance, since he was grateful for protecting his little girl and after getting to know Ryan has seen that despite his rough shell, he is very considerate and well behaved on the inside.

AN: hope you like it so far. I probably will go episode to episode like with my other fanfictions, but I will skip some episodes where Ryan will have no impact and won't appear.


	2. Episode1 part1

Red Brawler

|Lian Yu|

A man in his late twenties is running over the rocky terrain on a deserted Island called Lian Yu. He jumps of a rock, landing on a small plateau where he has some of his equipment prepared. Looking out to the sea in front of him he can see a small fisher boat located near the shores of the Island he is stuck on. The man, Oliver Queen son of deceased Millionaire Robert Queen takes an arrow and runs the sharp stone head over the nearby rocks, creating a spark igniting the cloth wrapped just under the arrow head. He then grabs his bow and shoots the burning arrow at a wood pile at the coast, which he prepared in case there is someone nearby he can alert to his presence.

The wood pile goes up in flames and thick smoke rises from it. A fisherman on the boat Oliver sighted points to the signal, alerting his captain that there seems to be someone shipwrecked there. The boat steers to the shore of the island and the fisherman and his captain use a rowboat to get to shore safely and look for whoever ignited the signal.

In the meantime, Oliver made his way down the cliff he was on and approaches the two fishermen with his few possessions and kneels before them grateful that he can finally hope to get off the island. The two fishermen take Oliver aboard their boat and take him along to their former destination, where he gets help from the local government and after explaining them who he is and some parts of what happened they help him get back to his home: Starling city.

* * *

|Starling General Hospital|

Oliver is standing in his hospital room looking out of the window seeing the lights of Starling City shining bright in the night.

In front of his hospital room Moira Queen his mother is talking to his doctor

"Twenty percent of his body is covered in scar tissue and second degree burns on his back and arms. X-rays show at least twelve fractures that never properly healed." The doctor explains.

"Has he said anything about what happened?" Moira asks looking sadly at her son.

"No, he's barely said anything. Moira I'd like you to prepare yourself. The Oliver you lost might not be the Oliver they found." The doctor replies.

Moira takes a deep breath and opens the door warily, stepping inside. "Oliver?" she asks.

Oliver turns around slowly and gives a very small smile saying "Mom."

Moira smiles brightly and gets closer to him, reaching him and saying "Oh, my beautiful boy." sounding very shook up and gives him a long hug, welcoming him back.

They soon leave the hospital, thanking the doctor for checking Oliver's health status and then go home.

* * *

|QUeen Mansion|

As they enter the building the driver wants to get Oliver's case out of his trunk, but Oliver stops him and carries it himself telling him "I got it."

"Your room is exactly as you left it, I never had the heart to change a thing." Moira tells him opening their front door and going into the mansion.

"Oliver, it's damn good to see you." Walter Steele, someone who Oliver remembers as a friend and employee of his father greets him. After a few moments of silence he says "It's Walter, Walter Steele."

"You remember Walter. Your fathers friend from the company." Moira says gently brushing over Oliver's back sportingly.

Oliver sees someone else coming into the lobby and goes past Walter approaching the maid saying "It's good to see you Raisa." smiling at her.

"Welcome home Mr. Oliver. Mr. Merlin called he wants to join you for dinner." The maid replies with a Russian accent.

"Wonderful. Oliver did you hear that?" Moira asks seeing her son go to the other side of the stairwell.

"Hey sis." Oliver says smiling at seeing his little sister at the top of the stairs.

"I knew it, I knew you were alive." Thea says relieved, jogs down the stairs and hugs her brother as soon as she reaches floor.

"I missed you so much." Thea says near tears.

"You were with me the whole time." Oliver replies.

* * *

|CNRI office|

"Come on Laurel we're lawyers not miracle workers. We can't win this." Joanna de la Vega Laurels best friend tells her while Laurel is checking her mail.

"If we can't win a class action sue against a man who swindled hundreds of people out of their homes and life savings, then we're not fit to call ourselves a legal aid office." Laurel replies.

"And if we go bankrupt in the process we won't be a legal aid office. Hunt has an army of lawyers and they are ready to bury us." Joanna says, while they walk over to Laurels workstation.

"You and I against an army, I love those odds." Laurel says sitting down.

"Why do you hate me?" Joanna asks annoyed at her friends in ability to see reason.

"Here is some more Intel on Hunt, but nothing helpful. Also, just because I'm only a secretary and not a full-fledged Lawyer like you guys, doesn't mean I'm not also on your team." Ryan says jokingly, walking over to Laurels desk and handing her the files.

"As if I could ever forget about you, now try to get me some helpful intel on Hunt." Laurel says looking over the file.

"I'll try but don't expect too much, Hunt has good connections and any dirt will most likely have been swept under the carpet." Ryan says.

"Well if it's gonna be like this with every case, then I don't think we'll need your assistance anymore, I mean I can get useless Intel anywhere." Laurel teases.

"Haha, be honest, ever since you got me this job your cases went far easier and you have a way higher success rate." Ryan replies walking off to do his work.

"He is right, his work often is helpful in one way or another, then again we don't have many cases dealing with people like Hunt." Joanna says.

"Yeah, yeah I know I just like to tease him." Laurel says and then notices that everyone is focusing on the TV showing the news.

"The Queens Gambit was last heard from five years ago. Mr. Queen has confirmed that he was the only survivor of the accident that took the lives off seven people including local resident Sarah Lance, survived by her sister Laurel…" The news reporter says, showing a picture of Laurels sister.

Laurel has walked over to the group people all listening to the news and upon hearing of her sisters death yet again, she takes the remote and shuts it off getting the attention of all off her coworkers and just walks to her desk again, slumping down on her chair.

Ryan comes over, having seen the scene from his desk and asks her gently "Hey sis, everything OK? Must be hard hearing about your sisters' death yet again."

"Yeah, I'll be OK it just opens old wounds, don't worry about it." Laurel replies sounding exhausted.

"OK, if you need anything you know where to find me and remember I'm not only your secretary but also your surrogate sibling." Ryan replies going back to work assuming that Laurel will just need some alone time.

* * *

|Queen Mansion|

Oliver just finished his shower and is looking around his room dressed in only a towel wrapped around his waist. Thinking about everything that changed and looking at his many scars in the human sized mirror standing in his room. After mulling over everything that happened on the ship he gets dressed and goes downstairs to the lobby, looking at the pictures and waiting for his best friend Tommy Merlin.

Tommy opens the front door and says "What did I tell you? Yachts suck." Seeing his best friend standing in front of him.

Oliver turns around, looking at his friend saying "Tommy Merlin." Smiling brightly.

"I missed you buddy." Tommy replies hugging Oliver.

"Come on dinner should be reads soon." Oliver tells him and they go into the dining room, where they sit down to eat along with Moira, Thea and Walter.

"Ok, what else did you miss? Super bowl winners: Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh and Lost, they were all dead, I think." Tommy says while Thea looks at him smiling and Oliver looks at his Mothers and Walters behavior noticing that they are a couple.

"What was it like there?" Thea asks curious.

Everyone looks at him interested what his answer will be like and Oliver only replies "cold."

"Tomorrow, you and me we're touring the city we have a lot to catch up on." Tommy suggests.

"That sounds like a great idea." Moira says.

"Good, then I was planning to swing by the office." Oliver replies.

Walter tells him "Well there is plenty time for all that, Queen consolidated is not going anywhere."

Raisa is bringing a bowl of fruit over to the dinner table and stumbles, loosing her grip on the bowl next to Oliver, who grabs it in time before it can fall down and she apologizes "I'm so sorry Mr. Oliver."

Oliver replies something in Russian to which everyone looks at him surprised and Tommy says amused "Dude you speak Russian?"

"I didn't realize you took Russian at college Oliver." Walter says surprised.

"I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother Walter." Oliver replies challengingly.

After a few seconds of silence Thea says "I didn't say anything."

"She didn't have to." Oliver explains.

"Oliver, Walter and I are married and I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father." Moira explains holding hands with her husband.

"We both believed your father, like you was, uhm gone." Walter adds.

"It's fine, may I be excused Oliver says at which Moira nods her head and Oliver gets up, grabbing an apple and walking to his room, while walking past Tommy he pats his shoulder and winks at Thea while Tommy reminds him "Hey don't forget about tomorrow buddy."

* * *

|the next morning|

Thea is in her room with one of her classmates, who is using a credit card to make lines of a drug for them to snort.

"Where did you get these?" Thea asks curious.

"Roxys, thank you daddys acl tremor" Her friend says holding up a bottle of pills.

Oliver then knocks at Theas door, entering while Thea hurriedly puts a book over the lines and greets him saying "Ollie."

"No one's called me that in a long time speedy." Oliver replies walking towards her.

"Worst nickname ever." Thea says.

"What always chasing after me as a kid I think it fit pretty well, maybe it still does." Oliver replies.

Theas friend takes this as her cue to leave, grabs her Jacket and leaves the room saying "See you at school Speedy."

"Sorry about her." Thea apologizes.

"I have something for you." Oliver says holding up a stone in the shape of an arrow head with some kind of writing on it.

"You did not come back from a deserted Island with a souvenir." Thea says surprised.

"It`s a hosen and in Budism it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it in hopes that one day I could give it to you." Oliver explains and Thea accepts the stone smiling at her brothers thoughtfulness.

"A rock. That is sweet, you know I want a T-shirt that says my friend was a castaway and all I got was this crappy shirt." Tommy jokes, walking into the room and walking over to Oliver.

"Don't let him get you into too much trouble, you just got back. Take it slow." Thea says and hugs her brother goodbye.

"The city awaits." Tommy says and he and Oliver leave Theas room.

"You noticed how hot your sister has got?" Tommy says and adds "Because I have not." after seeing his friends stare.

* * *

|streets|

Tommy is driving with Oliver through town talking about everything that happened while he was gone.

"Your funeral blew." Tommy says.

"You got lucky?" Oliver asks.

"Like fish in a barrel. They were so sad and I'm counting on another target rich environment for your welcome home bash." Tommy smiles.

"My what?" Oliver asks surprised.

"You came back from the dead, this calls for a party. You tell me where and when and I'll take care of everything. Man this city is going to crap, you know your dad sold his factory just in time. Why did you want to drive to this neighborhood anyway?" Tommy asks pulling up in front of the old rundown Queen industrial factory in the glades.

"No reason." Oliver replies looking at the factory.

"So what did you miss the most? Stakes at the palm, shakes at the station, meaningless sex?" Tommy asks.

"Laurel." Oliver replies.

"Everyone is happy you're alive and you wanna see the one person who isn't?" Tommy asks doubtfully and Oliver only shrugs his shoulders as a reply.

* * *

|CNRI|

"Laurel, I just got this from police lawyers. The files a change of venue we are now in front of Judge growl." Joanna says giving Laurel a folder and walking with her.

"And Hunt founded growls reelection campaign, so he's got growl in his back pocket." Laurel says annoyed handing Joanna the folder back.

"You know it's fun being your friend I get to say I told you so a lot." Joanna jokes.

"No Adam Hunt is not smarter than me." Laurel replies.

"No just richer and willing to commit multiple felonies." Joanna tells her.

"We don't need to go outside the law..." Laurel says.

"To find justice. Your dads favorite jingle." Joanna finishes and takes off.

Laurel walks a few more steps to her desk and sees Oliver standing at her desk next to Ryan talking to each other.

"So from when do you know Laurel?" Ryan asks curious.

"About 5 years ago, we were together at the time but I screwed up. How do you know her?" Oliver says.

"I rescued her from some assailants 2 years ago, while she was walking around the glades and she helped me get this job and pretty much took me in as a surrogate brother." Ryan replies.

Oliver then sees Laurel and turns to her saying "Hello Laurel."

Laurel looses her smirk and gets a sad expression on her face, Ryan notices this and steps closer to her sister asking her "Everything OK with this guy or do you want me to throw him out?"

"No, he's OK. A giant dick, but not dangerous." Laurel replies getting Ryan to relax.

"Can we take a walk and talk?" Oliver asks hopefully.

"I guess I've got to deal with you sometime soon so lets get it over with." Laurel replies and leaves with Oliver.

"So you went to law school? You said you would." Oliver says after they got outside and started to stroll around.

"Yeah. Everyone is proud." Laurel replies emotionless.

"Adam Hunt is a heavy hitter you sure you want to get in the ring with him?"Oliver asks her.

"5 years and you wanna talk about Adam Hunt?" Laurel asks.

"No not really." Oliver replies.

"Why are you here Ollie?" Laurel questions him stopping their stroll and looking him in the eyes.

"To apologize. It was my fault, I want to ask you not to blame her." Oliver explains.

"For what? Falling under your spell? How could I possibly blame her for the same things I did? She was my sister! I couldn't be angry because she was dead, I couldn't grieve because I was so angry. That's what happens when your sister dies while screwing your boyfriend. We buried an empty coffin because her body is at the bottom of the ocean where you left her. It should have been you." Laurel says.

"I know that it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry." Oliver apologizes.

"Yeah I'm sorry too. I had hoped that you'd rot in hell a whole lot longer than 5 years." Laurel snaps and walks away. Passing by Tommy she asks him "How did you think this was gonna go Tommy?"

"About like that." Tommy replies sarcastically and he and Oliver walk to where they had parked their car.

"OK so we took care of that, now we can make up for lost time. If you're not too sick of fish I'd suggest we find some lady models and eat sushi off of them, what do you think?" Tommy suggests, when suddenly a van pulls up behind them and 2 masked people come around the corner shooting Oliver and Tommy with tranquilizer darts. Some one bringing out his garbage sees this and shouts "Hey." another kidnapper shoots the man with his automatic rifle. After that Oliver lost his consciousness.

* * *

|abandoned factory|

Oliver is tied to a chair and has the sack that was over his head ripped off with one of the kidnappers shouting at him "Mr. Queen. Did your father survive that accident? I ask the questions you give me the answers." showing Oliver his taser.

Oliver looks around the room and test the strength of the zip cords tying him to the chair. The masked man looks at one of his other 2 companions and shrugs his shoulder, tasing Oliver who screams out in pain and flinches at the electric shock.

"Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?" the man asks and tases Oliver again.

"Yes he did." Oliver answers breathing heavily.

"What did he tell you Mr. Queen?" the man questions.

After a taking a pause to calm himself Olive" answers "He told me I'm gonna kill you."

"The abductors laugh and the man says "your delusional. You're zip cuffed to that chair."

"not anymore." Oliver replies showing his hands free of restraints.

The man swings at Oliver, who ducks under the punch, grabbing the chair and pushes it one of the guys in the throat. He turns around and grabs the taser from the guy who was talking to him and tases him in the chest, punching him and then uses him as a human shield, because the guy with the automatic rifle shoots at him, after seeing that he missed the man takes off running.

Oliver goes after him, stopping shorty to check if Tommy who is lying tied up on the floor has a pulse. Finding one he continues his pursuit of the guy who shot at him.

He chases him through the factory with many acrobatic maneuvers and after catching up to him he dodges another incoming rain of bullets, by swinging on a chain and landing next to him. He kicks the guy and then grabs his head in a reverse chokehold with the guys head between his armpit and hand.

"You killed that man." Oliver says.

"You don't have to do this." the man pleads.  
"Yes I do nobody can know my secret." Oliver replies and breaks the guys neck.

* * *

|Queen Mansion|

"So that's your story? A man in a green hood flew in and single handedly took out three armed kidnappers? I mean who is he, why would he do that?" Quentin Lance, Laurels father and a Starling city police detective asks Oliver.

"I don't know, find him and you can ask." Oliver replies.

"What about you? You see the hood guy?" Quentin asks Tommy holding up the sketch a police officer made based on Olivers description.

"I saw, just movement. Everything blurry. I was kind of out of it." Tommy explains.

"Yeah it's funny isn't it. One day back and already somebody is gunning for you. Aren't you popular." Quentin remarks.

"Were you able to identify the men?" Moira questions looking annoyed at Quentins behavior.

"Scrubbed identities and untraceable weapons. These were pros." Quentins partner replies.

"Yeah well they probably figured that you'd pay a kings ransome to get your boy back or Queens ransom as you will. After all a parent would do anything to keep their child safe." Quentin says.

"I don't find your tone appropriate Detective." Moira says.

"If Oliver can think of anything else, he'll call. Thank you gentlemen for coming." Walter says standing up.

Quentin packs his things and gets up telling Oliver "Your luck never seems to run out does it." and he and his partner leave the house.

A bit later Oliver is sitting in his room researching Adam Hunt and looking at a notebook with a list of names in it. Adam Hunt being one of them.

Raisa walks in with a fruit platter and says "You are different. Not like you to read a book."

"I missed you Raisa." Oliver replies.

"No kitchen on the island." Raisa jokes.

"No. No friends either. Hey, thank you." Oliver says and takes the platter of her hands.

"Do I really seem different?" Oliver asks.

"No you're still a good boy." Raisa replies kindly.

"I think we both know I wasn't." Oliver replies.

"No but still a good heart." Raisa explains.

"Well I hope so. I always wanted to be the person you said I could be." Oliver says smiling at her lightly.


	3. Episode1 part2

Red Brawler

|Queen Mansion|

Oliver leaves the house, intending to start building his new secret hideout when Moira stops him after exciting the front door.

"Oliver, come here I want to introduce you to someone, John Diggle. He'll be accompanying you from now on." Moira says.

"I don't need a babysitter." Oliver replies.

"Darling, Oliver is a growing man and if he feels he doesn't need our protection we should try…" Walter argues.

"No, I understand but this is something I need." Moira pleads to Oliver, getting him to agree with the bodyguard.

* * *

|car|

"So, what do I call you?" Oliver asks his driver and bodyguard.

"Diggle's good. Dig if you want." Diggle replies.

"You're ex-military?" Oliver questions.

"Yes sir. I was in the 5th Airborne out of Kandahar but retired and have been in the private sector for over 4 years now. I don't want there to be any confusion Mr. Queen my ability to protect you from harm will far outweigh your comfort. Do we have an agreement?" Diggle says and then hears the back door of the car open and shut. Turning around he sees Oliver gone and stops the car, gets out and looks for signs of Oliver but can't find him anywhere.

* * *

|hideout|

Oliver slipped out during Diggle's story and made his way over to his fathers abandoned Steel industry and goes in, where he sets up an underground hideout for his alter ego, complete with various computers and workout opportunities.

Turning on the TV Oliver sees a news story covering the prosecution of Adam Hunt, the case in which Laurel is involved and decides to start his mission to get rid of everyone poisoning his city with him.

* * *

|parking garage|

Adam Hunt is walking to his car followed by two bodyguards while ordering one of his men what to do regarding the upcoming prosecution.

"You remind growl, I put him on the bench and I can take him off. It will turn him into a cautionary man." Hunt says.

"Yes Mr. Hunt." The underling replies.

"And this attorney Laurel Lance, you said she wasn't going to be a problem anymore. I told you to fix that situation. Why are you still here?" Hunt tells him angered, making the man hurry of to carry out his boss's orders.

A few seconds later something strikes the light above the now remaining three men, making it fail in a shower of sparks. Almost simultaneously the bodyguard to Hunt's left gets hit in the chest by an arrow.

"Get in the car!" the other bodyguard yells, covering Adam Hunt while he hurries inside the car. The man then turns around, shooting in the direction he assumes the attack came from until he too gets hit by two arrows with the silent exclamation "You missed!"

Oliver, dressed in a black-green leather outfit with a hood then fires an arrow through the back window of the car before pulling Adam Hunt out of the vehicle through the newly created hole, throwing him to the floor of the garage while kneeling on his car's hood with his bow ready to release a fatal arrow at Adam Hunt.

"Woah. Look, just tell me what you want." Adam Hunt pleads, raising his hands in front of him.

"You're gonna transfer 40 million dollars into Starling City bank account 1141 by 10 pm tomorrow." Oliver demands, holding Adam Hunt up by his collar after jumping off the car.

"Or what?" Mr. Hunt asks scared.

"Or I'm gonna take it and you're not gonna like how." Oliver replies.

"I see you again, you're dead!" Mr. Hunt threatens the now leaving Oliver who responds with an arrow piercing the windshield directly next to Adam Hunt.

* * *

|Hunt's office|

Mr. Hunt is explaining what happened to the police in his office while pacing up and down nervously.

"He was wearing a hood, a green hood and he had a bow and arrow."

"What you don't believe me? That maniac put two of my men in the hospital." Adam Hunt says, seeing the incredulous look on Detective Lance's face and hands him and his partner an arrow.

"Well, thanks for your statement, I will put out an APB on Robin Hood?" Quentin Lance says sarcastically.

"Hey pal, I'm not some grocer who got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line. Now he said he'd be back here by 10 pm, make sure you're here first. You can coordinate with Mr. Drakon, my new head of security." Adam Hunt tells them demandingly.

"Alright, well thanks for your time." Quentin says before he and his partner leave the office.

"Looks like Queen was telling the truth." Lucas Hilton, Quentin's partner says.

"Yeah well, if this hooded guy comes looking for trouble he'll find it." Quentin says, getting in the elevator with Lucas.

* * *

|party|

Oliver arrives at his 'back from the dead' party, having Diggle keep a close eye on him ever since he left the house after he slipped away from him earlier to build his hideout.

The music is already playing, the whole floor is crowded until Tommy sees him making his way down the stairs leading to the dancefloor and signals the DJ to cut the music, making everyone look at them while he yells "Everybody, hey-hey-hey. Man of the hour!" patting Oliver on his shoulder.

Making everyone at the party cheer for Oliver, while 'we are the champions' starts to play during Oliver's walk over to the main stage, getting on and shouting "thank you very much everybody." Before receiving a drink from Tommy. Downing the shot he turns to the crowd and shouts "I missed tequila!" making everyone cheer excitedly and start dancing again when the music turns back on.

After getting off the stage Tommy sees Diggle observing Oliver and asks him "Hey, is he waiting for you too? Now by my rough estimate you haven't had sex in 1839 days. As your wingman I highly recommend Carly Golden." Turning Oliver around so he can see who Tommy is referring to.

"Which one is she?" Olvier asks, looking at the three dancing women his friend pointed out to him.

"The one that looks like the chick from Twilight." Tommy answers.

"What`s Twilight?" Oliver questions.

"So better off not knowing." Tommy tells him, and Oliver looks around till he sees his sister talking to someone before getting handed a small pack of drugs.

"I'll be back in a minute." Oliver informs his best friend and walks over to Thea with Diggle following him.

"Ollie, hey this party is sick." Thea greets her brother.

"Who let you in here?" Oliver asks.

"I believe it was somebody who said right this way Mrs. Queen." Thea jokes.

"You shouldn't be here." Oliver tells her.

"Ollie, I'm not twelve anymore." Thea protests annoyed at her brother.

"No, you're seventeen." Oliver argues.

"Oliver I love you but can't come back here and judge me. Especially for being just like you." Thea says.

"I know that it couldn't have been easy for you when I was away." Oliver says.

"Away? No, you died. My brother and my father died, I went to your funerals." Thea tells him.

"I know." Oliver says disappointed.

"No, you don't! Mom had Walter and I had no one. You guys all act like it's cool. Forget about the last five years, but I can't. For me it's kinda permanently in there, so I'm sorry if I turned out be some major disappointment, but this me it's the best I could do with what I had to work with." Thea says upset and walks away with her friends.

A few moments later Thea and her friends want to take the drugs, but Thea finds them missing.

Oliver had snatched the drugs from his sister's bag and throws them in a trash can, once he gets there he sees Ryan standing there looking at him.

"Who was that? Your sister?" Ryan asks him.

"Yes, why?" Oliver asks defensively.

"Nothing, but wise decision with the drugs. I've seen first hand how they can mess up a person and their family." Ryan replies.

"Aha, why are you here by the way? We only met this morning." Oliver asks surprised.

"Laurel dragged me along." Ryan tells him pointing over to her.

Oliver starts to go over to her, but Ryan stops him, whispering "Hurt her and I'll break your legs." Before letting Oliver past so he can see Laurel.

"You do that." Oliver says slightly amused.

"Hey, you're here." Oliver says getting Laurel's attention.

"Tommy, he made the point that we have to much history between us to leave things the way we left them. Is there some place quieter we could go?" Laurel asks before getting lead to a quieter spot by Oliver.

Ryan seeing his sister taking off decides to wander around and a quarter hour later he bumps into Thea Queen, making her fall to the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Thea says annoyedly sounding at least a bit tipsy, a few drinks away from being full on drunk.

"Sorry, I didn't watch where I was going. Thea, right?" Ryan apologizes, helping her up.

"Should I know you?" Thea asks looking at Ryan's face closely.

"No, I suppose not. I'm Ryan Atwood, a friend of Laurel Lance's she dragged me along to the party." Ryan informs her.

"Is that why your dress code is so off? I mean a wife beater and jeans to a party, really?" Thea questions disapprovingly.

"Well it didn't come up in which neighborhood the party was, this isn't usually my scene." Ryan replies feeling a bit embarrassed.

"No kidding." Thea says amused.

"Laurel is a defense attorney, right? Are you her client?" Thea asks.

"No, I'm her co-worker and roommate." Ryan replies.

"Huh, well see you around Ron." Thea says, walking off.

"It's Ryan and do you need some help getting home?" Ryan offers concerned about her because of her drunken state.

"No, I'll get a cab to take me." Thea replies before disappearing into the crowd.

With Laurel and Oliver

"I'm sorry for saying that you should have been the one to die, that was wrong." Laurel apologizes to Oliver.

"If I could trade places with her I would." Oliver replies.

"About Sarah. There is something that I've been afraid to ask but I need to know, when she died did she suffer?" Laurel asks dreadfully.

"No." Oliver replies calmly.

"I think about her every day." Laurel confesses.

"Me too." Oliver says.

"I guess we still have one thing in common then. I can't believe I'm gonna say this but if you need someone to talk to, about what happened to you I'm here." Laurel says before Oliver's phone rings and he checks it, seeing that it's 10 pm and Adam Hunt didn't pay up.

"Something wrong?" Laurel asks seeing the disappointed expression on his face.

"I asked somebody to do something, they didn't do it. Laurel, you always saw the best in me, right now that's what you're doing. Looking at me and wondering if the Island changed me, somehow made me a better person. It didn't, stay away from me otherwise I'm just gonna hurt you again and this time would be worse. Got to roll, I got five years of debauchery to catch up on." Oliver tells her.

"Know what Oliver, you're wrong the island did change you. At least now you're honest." Laurel tells him before walking away disappointed.

After Laurel left Oliver tries to sneak away unnoticed but Diggle finds him.

"Something I can help you with Sir?" Diggle asks, leaning on a doorway.

"I just want a second to myself." Oliver replies.

"I'd believe you Mr. Queen if you weren't so full of crap. Party is this way" Diggle tells him, pointing at the door next to him.

Oliver goes to the door, uses the doorknob, pretending to want to open it and tells him "It's locked."

Diggle reaches for the doorknob, when Oliver takes him in a chokehold until Diggle passes out.

* * *

|Hunt's building|

After putting the passed-out Diggle in a secure spot Oliver gets into his costume and sneaks into the Hunt building, making the lights short out and arrives at Hunt's office floor by elevator.

Once the elevator door opens Oliver releases the first arrow, hitting a guard holding a machine gun and attacks the two people right next to the elevator doors, hitting them with his bow a few times until they drop down. He then throws his bow in the face of an incoming guard before jumping off a wall, jumping on another guard, wrestling him to the ground and picks up his bow again while dodging shots from the remaining guard in the room.

A few second after the guards magazine was empty he throws the guard through the glass doors of Adam Hunt's office, making the guards in that room open fire on their comrade.

Oliver then uses their confusion and fires an arrow at a guard across the room and punches the guard next to the broken door with his bow two times and fires a tech arrow at Adam Hunt's wall.

"You missed." Adam Hunt says.

"Really?" Oliver asks and then gets attacked by Hunt's chief of security. He knocks Olivers bow out of his hands and starts to hit Oliver, who blocks the punches until he grabs the attackers arm and throws him into the glass table in the room, afterwards he chokes him with his thighs, but the man manages to free himself.

In the meantime, Adam Hunt sneaked away and informed the police squad that the hood has arrived.

Getting up Drakon takes out a knife and tries to slash Oliver but he sidesteps and uses Drakon's momentum to throw him against a wall. Oliver then punches Drakon a few times before he dislocated Drakon's shoulder, who loses his knife but is in arm's reach of a machine gun lying on the floor. Drakon picks it up and fires at Oliver, who uses a special mini arrow, basically an arrowhead with a 2-3inch shaft and kills Drakon with it, hitting him in the neck while he jumps over a table, dodging the incoming gunfire. After landing on the ground hard Oliver loses consciousness for a few seconds before waking up to the police storming the room.

Oliver shoots an arrow at the first officer, making most back away except for Quentin Lance who opens fire on Oliver who is running towards the windows, jumping out of one and uses a zipline to the building across the street, he prepared beforehand to get back to the party and dodge the police.

* * *

|party|

The police then leave Hunt's building and immediately go over to Oliver's party, interrupting it to look for the hooded killer.

"Oh Mr. Merlin imagine my shock to find you here. Did you rufy anyone special tonight?" Quentin asks Tommy.

"Detective. This is a private party." Oliver, who changed back into his normal clothes says going over to Quentin.

"Yeah well there has been an incident at Adam Hunt's building tonight, would you know anything about that?" Quentin asks Oliver who is playing dumb, asking "Who's Adam Hunt?"

"He's a millionaire bottom feeder, I'm kinda surprised you aren't friends." Quentin taunts.

"I've been out of town for a while." Oliver remarks.

"Yeah, well he just got attacked by the guy with the hood. The guy that saved your ass the other day." Quentin informs Oliver.

"The hood guy? To help you find him I'm gonna offer a reward. Hey everybody, two million dollars to anyone who can find a nutbar in a green hood." Oliver shouts, making the party goes cheer.

"Did you even try to save her? Did you even try to save my daughter?" Quentin asks Oliver enraged before Lucas Hilton and Ryan, who came up to them after seeing Quentin try to calm him down and lead him away from Oliver.

Oliver then goes up on a stage and yells "It's way too quiet in here this is a party!" getting the party started again.

* * *

|the next day|

Oliver transferred the money he stole from Adam Hunt with his tech arrow to multiple accounts of Hunt's victims.

Laurel and her colleague get phone calls about the victims of Hunt receiving an anonymous deposit in their bank accounts, making Laurel happy and thinking that there is a guardian angel out there, looking out for the city.


	4. Episode3

Red Brawler

|AN: episode 2 happened same as in Canon, Oliver got legally resurrected, Thea is pissed at him because he doesn't talk to her, he and Laurel got attacked in her home, he took down Martin Somers who had connections to the Chinese triad. |

* * *

About a week after the events with Martin Somers happened Oliver chose his next target, James Holder. When he approached him as the Arrow to get him to redeem himself his visit got interrupted by someone shooting James Holder with a sniper rifle and shot Oliver in the arm as he took cover. After he got back to his hideout and treated the bullet wound he feels something affecting him and quickly uses some medicine from the island before he fainted, realizing that the bullet was poisoned.

After waking up and checking the time Oliver quickly goes home so nobody gets suspicious and sees cops in his home talking to his mother and step-father.

"What happened, is Thea OK?" Oliver asks Diggle, seeing his sister sit on the couch.

"Cops brought her home, she and some friend broke into some store and tried on some dresses last night and the breathalyzer then lit up like a Christmas tree. So how was your evening sir?" Diggle replies.

"You mean after I said I was going to the bathroom and never came back?" Oliver asks.

"I guess from now on I'm gonna be watching you pee." Diggle tells him stoically.

Oliver sees the cops leave with Walter and approaches his mother and sister.

"Last time it was public intoxication, this time it was breaking and entering. My how we are moving up in the criminal world." Moira tells her daughter disappointed.

"You know when you pay off the store owner you should check out the merchandize, they have some pretty killer outfits." Thea says dismissively.

"Thea go get ready for school." Moira says ignoring the comment.

"You know, I was thinking of taking a sick day." Thea tells her.

"Fine, then get some sleep." Moira replies and Thea leaves, telling her brother "you look like crap on her way out."

"You're letting her play hooky?" Oliver asks his mother.

"When your sister gets like this it's best to give her some space." Moira tells him.

"She's testing you." Oliver says.

"Yes, who did she learn that from?" Moira replies.

"Mom, when I was her age you and dad would have let me get away with murder, looking back I could have used less space and more parenting." Oliver advises before leaving his mother to her thoughts.

After cleaning up at home he sneaks away from Diggle yet again and goes back to his hideout, where he finds out that the bullet was laced with curare and after a search of some criminal databases he finds out that the shooter is called Deadshot, an assassin for hire.

* * *

The next day Oliver gets Tommy and shows him the Queen's old steel factory, which is located over is hideout and tells him that he plans to open up a club there.

Tommy suggests that Oliver gets reacquainted with the club scene and tells him about a club opening, the only downside is that Oliver slept with the owners' fiancé before her wedding and that he most likely still has a grudge, but Oliver agrees to meet Tommy there.

* * *

|CNRI|

Joanna wants some case files from Laurel and Laurel starts looking for them randomly, having no clue where she put them.

"I was just surfing the net." Laurel tells her, feeling her best friends stare.

"Really?" Joanna asks knowingly.

"Joanna I'm over him, and you don't believe me." Laurel tells her.

"Well I would if I didn't just see you trolling over some articles about him." Joanna tells her.

"I wasn't trolling." Laurel defends herself.

"Yes you were." Ryan tells her coming over to them with some files for Laurel.

"Do I have to remind you that he was cheating on you with your sister?" Joanna asks.

"You're stuck in the past and the reason I know this is that the only physical relationship you've had since Oliver is with his best friend. It is time to move on, it is past time." Joanna tells her.

"I've been busy, I work a lot." Laurel replies brushing her speech off.

"Really? Well that's gonna stop. We're going out tonight. And we're gonna have shots and dance with men we don't know and we're gonna stay up way too late." Joanna announces, pulling Ryan to her side.

"Just to make this clear, I'm not gonna dance with dudes." Ryan tells her, making Joanna grin.

"I really don't think I can go out tonight." Laurel says as Joanna finds the file and starts to walk over to her station.

"It is adorable that you actually think we're giving you a choice." Joanna says and continues on her way.

* * *

|Queen mansion, Thea's room|

Thea is getting ready for school when Moira walks in and tells her "I want you to come home right after school."

"Uhh, can't Margo and I are gonna go to the mall." Thea says.

"What more shopping? Tell Margo you're gonna have to cancel and you're grounded for two weeks." Moira says.

"Grounded? I've never been grounded." Thea asks confused.

"Well you've never committed larceny before." Moira tells her.

"Since when do you care?" Thea questions going over to her mother looking at her suspiciously.

"I've always cared, I'm your mother" Moira replies.

"We've had a good thing going on the last five years, why mess with that now?" Thea asks annoyed.

"No, we are paying off store owners to keep your record clean so clearly it hasn't been working." Moira answers.

"And you're gonna teach me? It's Oliver isn't it? His judgmental hypocraty is rubbing off on you." Thea challenges.

"I don't need Oliver to teach me how to parent you, you'll be home by four." Moira demands.

"Or what? You'll call the cops on me? Tell them I said Hi." Thea says brushing her threat off and leaves for school.

Later that day Oliver follows Deadshots' trail, finding one of the bullets Deadshot fired at him and using his Bratva connection to get them to trace it to Deadshots' location.

Later that evening Detective Lance and his partner talk to Walter Steele and Moira since Walter is intending to bid on an industry, which will be sold at an auction next evening where many buyers will gather, something Walter lets the detectives know.

* * *

|nightclub Poison|

Oliver and Tommy make their way into the club, immediately let through by the bouncer but Oliver tells him that Diggle is not with him, causing Diggle to have to wait outside.

They see Laurel and Ryan near the bar and go over to them.

"Oh wow, doesn't you going out to have some fun violate some kind of law? Like the ones carved on a stone tablet? And good to see you again Ryan." Tommy greets Laurel and Ryan, not seeing Joanna on the dancefloor.

"Hi Tommy, Oliver. I hate to admit it sis, but that was a good one." Ryan says, shaking Tommy's and Oliver's hand.

"Yeah it was cute, I can see you two are up to your old hunting patterns?" Laurel tells them.

"Just seeing what passes as fun in Starling City after 5 years." Oliver replies.

"Well I'm sure you'll find it hasn't been the same without you." Laurel tells him sarcastically.

"Big brother!" Thea says running over excitedly.

"I'm so wasted, there is two of you." Thea tells him, while Tommy Laurel and Laurel turn away hoping to at least give them the illusion of a bit of privacy.

"I thought you were grounded?" Oliver asks surprised to see her there.

"I am and thank you for that by the way." Thea replies.

"You're done for tonight." Oliver tells her.

"And what are you gonna do? Call mom?" Thea challenges him.

"Thea, you're hanging with the wrong people." Oliver says.

"You're one to talk, how much do you know about your own so-called friends over there?" Thea tells him.

"Woah, Thea maybe you shouldn't." Tommy tries to stop her.

"Tommy, I think your bff has a right to know." Thea tells him.

"Thea, let's go." Oliver tells his sister.

"Oh I guess they they never told you that they've been screwing while you were gone." Thea says.

"Look man, I…" Tommy starts to say but Oliver stops him telling him "Tommy, it's OK."

"You and me, we're done for tonight." Oliver tells Thea, grabbing her arm to take her home.  
"Take your hands off of me. You're not my father and you're barely my brother." Thea tells him, shrugging Oliver off before leaving.

"I'll see if she'll let me drive her home, I think you may need to talk." Ryan tells his three older friends, following Thea.

Oliver still wants to follow her himself, but Laurel stops him telling him "He'll get her home safe."

They then get interrupted by Max Fuller "Well well, look who we have here." He says with his security team behind him.

"Max Fuller, how've you been." Oliver greets him.

"Happy you drowned." Max tells him before he leads Oliver and Tommy to a VIP section.

Once inside the section Max punches Oliver in the face and tells his people to get him up but Tommy stops them saying "Let him go, Let him go!"

"told you he was gonna be pissed." Oliver tells his friend.

"Back off Merlin, this isn't your problem." Max says.

"You wanna get to him, you're gonna have to go through me. Wow, they're probably gonna go through me." Tommy says.

Tommy and Oliver then start to fight the three more muscular security people and were getting pummeled by them since Oliver can't show his true skills, until Laurel enters the section and hits Max in the back two times, before spinning him around and showing him down.

"So is this over Max or are you gonna have your boys pound on me next?" Laurel asks him.

"You three consider yourselves banned for live. Get the hell outta my place." Max tells them angrily.

"You're club sucks anyways." Tommy shouts after him as he leaves with his men.

"You guys OK?" Laurel asks Oliver and Tommy.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Oliver asks surprised.

"Cop dad, he made me take self defense lessons, as did Ryan." Laurel tells him.

"Laurel, what Thea said…" Oliver says.

"Oliver, Tommy and I don't need your blessing and certainly not your forgiveness." Laurel says before she leaves.

* * *

In the meantime, Ryan caught up to Thea, who was making her way out of the club.

"Hey Thea, wait up." Ryan says, now walking next to her.

"Who are you again? You're Laurel's friend, right?" Thea asks him.

"I'm Ryan, we met at Oliver's welcome back party remember? And I'm Laurel's roommate to be exactly." Ryan tells her.

"I don't exactly remember much of what happened at the party to be honest." Thea tells him.

"Given how wasted you were that's not really a surprise to be honest." Ryan replies.

"So what do you want? Did Oliver send you after me or something?" Thea asks annoyed.

"No, I just wanted to offer you a ride home." Ryan tells her as they walk past the bouncer onto the sidewalk in front of the club.

"Sure why not." Thea agrees.

"So what do you do?" Thea asks him.

"I work at Laurel's office, it's only a secretary job but it's OK. Though now that I've graduated recently I'm gonna try to see if I can move up in the ladder a bit. You're still in school right?" Ryan tells her.

"When I actually go there, yes." Thea tells him with a smirk.

"I know the feeling, for different reasons though I'd guess." Ryan tells her, unlocking Laurel's car since he was the designated driver, since he only drinks rarely and holds open the car door for her.

"What do you mean?" Thea asks confused.

"You don't go cause you don't care or have to right?" Ryan asks her, getting in the driver seat.

"Yes." Thea confirms.

"well I didn't go because I was working at CNRI already and no one cared if I went, since they didn't really teach that much where I went to school." Ryan tells her.

"Oh, well looks like it worked out for you anyways." Thea says.

"Yeah, mostly because of Laurel though, orphans in the glades don't really have many options when it comes to work." Ryan tells her and starts the car.

"So, where do you live?" Ryan asks and Thea gives him the directions.

"Orphan huh? Did you lose your parents, or did you never know them?"

"Oh, I know them. My dad is in prison as is my brother and my mom walked out on me when my brother got incarcerated." Ryan tells her.

"How about you? I know it's not nearly the same but how are you dealing with losing your dad?" Ryan asks her.

"Well the first few years were hard, but it got better until Ollie came back, now it's starting all over again, this time knowing for sure that he's gone and even though I have my brother back, I don't." Thea tells him tiredly and angrily.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asks.

"Ever since he came back he's been different, distant and cold. He shuts us out completely, mom might be able to deal with it, but to be honest, I can't." Thea replies.

"that sucks." Ryan agrees as he arrives in front of the Queens house.

"Yeah, well thanks for the ride and please keep what I told you to yourself, I really should learn to keep quiet when I'm drunk." Thea jokes.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. It's not like I have anyone to tell it to either way." Ryan tells her as he walks around the car and opens the car door for her.

"Well anyway thanks, maybe we'll cross paths again sometime." Thea thanks him as she walks to her door.

"Sure, Oliver and Laurel seem to get along OK so I'm sure we're bound to run into each other. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully next time you'll remember me." Ryan jokes.

"I guess we'll have to wait and find out." Thea tells him with a smirk as she goes into the house, after which Ryan drives home himself.

* * *

|Big Belly Burger|

"Why don't you guys take a seat and I'll grab a couple of burgers and some ice for those faces." Diggle tells Olliver and Tommy as they walk in while greeting Carly, his sister in law.

"Oh, that girl's cute." Tommy says seeing Carly.

"That's my sister in law." Diggle tells Tommy, staring at him.

"Who I'll never speak to or look at. I'm gonna grab a booth." Tommy says escaping Diggle's stare.

"She's not wearing a wedding ring, brother out of the picture?" Oliver notices.

"Yeah you could say that." Diggle confirms.

"It's so sweet of you to adopt two white boys, they need a good role model." Carly tells him as Diggle makes his way over to her.

"That's my client Oliver Queen." Diggle tells her.

"Looks like you're doing a bang-up job protecting him." She jokes.

"Look man about Laurel, I was gonna tell you I was just trying to figure out the right way." Tommy tells Oliver, while they sit down in a booth.

"To tell somebody that you slept with their girlfriend after they went missing and were then presumed dead. What there is no greeting card for that?" Oliver jokes.

"Look it was wrong and I'm sorry." Tommy apologizes.

"Tommy, I was dead." Oliver says.

"But you were with Laurel and whether you were dead or as it turns out alive on a deserted island you are my friend and me being with Laurel violated that friendship in about 50 different ways." Tommy apologizes.

"Thank you but it's OK." Oliver tells him.

"How dangerous is this gig anyway?" Carly asks her brother in law.

"It's a cakewalk Carly, don't worry." Diggle tells her.

"Too late, or have you forgotten that this job got your brother killed? Because Dig, I haven't, I can't." Carly tells him.

Oliver then gets a phone call from his contact with the bratva and gets the information on where Deadshot or Floyd Lawton as his real name is stayed last in Starling City so later that night Oliver pays him a visit and trades fire with him but Deadshot manages to get away and Oliver takes Deadshot's laptop.

* * *

The next day he goes to the IT department of his family's company and asks the employee Felicity Smoak to salvage any information she can from the computer. And a few minutes later Felicity tells him what's on the computer, which are blue prints to the auction house where Walter and others will bid on unidac industries later that day.

* * *

|Queen mansion, Thea's room|

"Oh good you're here." Moira says walking into her daughters' room with two dresses.

"I'm under house arrest remember?" Thea says while she's sitting on her bed texting.

"Do you want to wear the Calvin Klein or the Zack Posten?" Moira asks her daughter, holding up the dresses.

"For dinner? I was just gonna go in my pajamas." Thea asks confused.

"For Walters stock auction." Moira says.

"I think I'd rather be grounded." Thea replies.

"No, it's important that you come." Moira tells her.

"To whom?" Thea asks.

"To me. Listen to me, when you were four years old you came home with a cat. It was a stray, filthy and it was mean but you stood there and declared that it was coming to live with us. When your father came home from the office and he saw what was going on, he sat you down and explained to you that the cat was in fact a tiger and that we needed to get it back home and somehow you understood. Robert was always so good at getting through to you, I was always so jealous of that." Moira says.

"You never talk about him, dad. This is the first time you've talked about him in years." Thea says blinking a few approaching tears out of her eyes.

"I think you and I've gotten into some bad habits. There has been a lot that's changed recently Thea and I think that maybe this can change too." Moira tells her before leaving the room.

After studying the blue prints Oliver realizes that he can't protect everyone in the building by himself, so he pays a late night visit to Quentin Lance and asks him for help and warns him about the curare laced bullets.

* * *

|that night – auction house|

"Well, quite a turnout huh?" Moira asks her husband standing next to him.

"Well it's quite an opportunity I suppose, but regardless of the outcome of the auction I'm already winner, because I have the two most beautiful women at my side tonight." Walter replies.

"Two?" Moira asks and follows Walter look to the entrance, where Thea walks in and goes over to them.

"Thanks for coming Thea, it means a lot to your mother and me." Walter tells her, hugging her before his wife does the same.

A employee then tells the three that the bid will begin shortly and that Walter should get his bid ready.

As they walk over to where the bid will take place Thea sees Ryan, who is dressed in a black suit, standing at the edge of the room with a camera and tells Moira "I'll be right back, I just saw a friend of mine and want to say hello really quick."

"Alright." Moira agrees and watches as Thea goes over to Ryan wondering who he is.

"Hey there Ryan, looks like I still remember you huh?" Thea greets him giving him a quick hug.

"Hi, you came with your stepfather huh?" Ryan says returning the hug.

"Yep, but what are you doing here?" Thea asks curiously.

"I'm pretending to be a photographer and am hoping to catch some information, some of the people here are involved in a trial against CNRI." Ryan whispers.

"clever. I have to say you clean up pretty good." Thea tells him looking him over.

"Thanks, you're beautiful as well, here let me take some pictures." Ryan says and takes a few steps back before focusing the camera on Thea and snaps some pictures.

"Now it's a successful evening even if I don't get any information tonight." Ryan whispers, making Thea blush.

"Well I better get back to my mom, she's staring." Thea tells him before she goes back over to Moira.

"Who is that? I don't think I've met him before." She asks her daughter quietly.

"I'll tell you later." Thea replies.

"Dig you got your eyes open?" Oliver asks walking over to his bodyguard.

"That's what I'm here for." Diggle tells him.

"This guy's out of time so if he's gonna do something It's gonna be before the auction." Oliver says.

"Sir?" Diggle questions.

"I've heard the story on the radio." Oliver says.

"Oliver I'm so pleased that you managed to attend." Walter greets his son in law.

"Walter I've heard that two of the unidac bidders were murdered, I think we should be a little bit more careful, my mother already lost one husband." Oliver tells him.

"Well if Moira shared your concerns she wouldn't have come, and she definitively wouldn't have brought Thea." Walter tells him, motioning to the two of them.

Oliver makes his way over to his mother and sister and motions for Diggle to come over.

"Oliver what a wonderful surprise." Moira greets him.

"I need you to get them out of here right now." Oliver tells Diggle.

In the meantime, Floyd Lawton has taken position across the street and is now aiming at Walter and turns on his laser pointer, which Quentin sees and rushes at Walter throwing him to the ground just in time, causing the bullet to hit a waiter in the back.

Everyone starts to panic and tries to flee, while Floyd Lawton takes shots at them, taking out some more of the bidders.

"Are you OK, are you hurt?" Oliver asks his sister and mother.

"No I'm fine, where is Walter?" Moira tells him while Thea is to stunned to talk.

Quentin brings over Walter to them.

"He's fine." Oliver tells them.

"Sir let me get you out of here." Diggle tells him.

"No, them. Them!" Oliver orders and rushes off.

Ryan also came over to the group, having seen his surrogate father with Walter as well as Thea.

Diggle starts to lead them outside before Ryan tells him "We got this, go after Oliver." While nodding to Quentin.

Floyd Lawton however has taken out almost all of the other bidders, or at least everyone on his kill list other than Walter and aims at him again when he hears the glass shatter and his aim is off, causing him to aim at Thea instead. He quickly takes the last shot before engaging Oliver who came crashing though a window in combat.

Ryan sees the red dot at the back of Walters suit and warns Quentin, who immediately jerks Walter to the side, behind a pillar, taking cover. Ryan sees the dot swerve to Thea and covers her back, pushing her to the side over to Quentin and Walter before he tries to get out of the way himself but he's to slow and gets hit in the shoulder and falls to the floor with a painful yell.

Quentin seeing the next best thing to a son he has on the floor immediately rushes over and drags him behind the cover of the pillar the Queen family is also at.

"Ryan try not to move and stay awake." Quentin tells him while he takes off his jacket, pressing it on the wound and tells his men to storm the location of the shooter and to get multiple ambulances. Ryan only nods his head with a painful grunt.

* * *

With Oliver and Floyd. After crashing through the window Oliver gets behind a pillar to dodge the incoming fire of Floyd's modified machine gun and manages to fire two arrows in between bursts of fire from Lawton but he misses him as well.

Oliver then disappears from behind the pillar and engages Deadshot in close combat, using a painter's platform to swing from a pipe and kicks Deadshot away who quickly recovers and aims at Oliver again, but Oliver is already on top of the platform and jumps off it, while grabbing the arm Deadshot has the machine gun attached to and flips him over his shoulder.

The two of them then get up and Deadshot tries to punch Oliver but he catches the attack and uses his free hand, in which he's holding his bow to punch Lawton in the stomach repeatedly. He throws him up against the painter's platform and chokes him with his bow but Deadshot squeezes Oliver's arm, where he shot him before, causing Oliver to release his grip and Deadshot flings his bow to the ground, Oliver grabs the back of Deadshots jacket and jerks him away while he runs over to his bow, picking it up and then takes cover behind a pillar again.

After a quick exchange of words, where Deadshot wants him to let him go since they are both killing people and he might be a mercenary as well they fire at each other again with Oliver hitting him in the eye while he escaped the fire of bullets however Diggle, who just arrived at the scene gets shot in the shoulder.

Oliver brings him to his hideout quickly and gives him the antidote for the curare he received along with the bullet in his shoulder.

* * *

In the meantime, Ryan as well as one of the bidders get rushed to the hospital and Quentin tells the ambulance drivers that the bullets are laced in curare and that both Ryan and the bidder will have to get the antidote as soon as possible.

Quentin has to stay there and handle the scene, so he tries to call his daughter, but Laurel has her phone turned off.

"You Queens really have to take away every bit of family I have." Quentin curses after not being able to reach his daughter.

"Family?" Moira asks confused.

"Ryan, the boy who took a bullet for your daughter. He's the closest thing to a son I have." Quentin tells her angrily.

"Will Ryan be OK?" Thea asks him concerned.

"I don't know the bullets are laced in curare I just hope he'll get the antidote quick enough." Quentin says.

"We should follow him to the hospital mom." Thea tells her mother who agrees.

"Mr. Lance, we'll follow them to the hospital and call if we have any news." Walter tells the man.

"Thank you. Sorry for blaming you, I just can't bear to lose another child." Quentin apologizes before he tries to get back to his job while the Queens other than Oliver drive to the hospital the ambulance has taken Ryan to.

* * *

|hospital|

"I'm sorry, we're looking for Ryan, what's his last name Thea?" Walter tells the nurse, before asking his daughter for the full name.  
"I don't know, we've only met twice before. He's the young man shot in the shoulder who was admitted here not long ago." Thea tells the nurse.

"He's in surgery at the moment, please take a seat over there I'll inform you when he gets out." The nurse tells them pointing over to a waiting area.

"How do you know him?" Moira asks her daughter.

"We met at some parties, the one for Ollies revival and one I was at last night. He works and lives with Laurel Lance.

"Well that would explain why Mr. Lance is so close to him." Walter says.

"I just hope he's gonna be OK." Thea says hugging her mother for support.

A while later the nurse tells them that he's out of surgery but is still sedated and shows them to his room, where Thea sits down on a chair in the room and tells her family that they can go home, and she'll stay there.

Moira only reluctantly agrees and both she and her husband leave to get home.

Thea then calls Quentin Lance and informs him of Ryan's current condition making the older man sigh out in relieve audibly.

About two hours after Ryan got released from surgery he wakes up with a painful groan since the pain medication is starting to wear off for now, waking the brunette who had fallen asleep in the chair close to his bed.

"Ryan, I'm so glad you're OK." Thea says getting out of the chair and taking his right hand since his left arm got shot.

"Well your definition of OK might differ from mine but right back at ya. I wasn't sure I got you out of the way in time." Ryan tells her.

"Other than worrying about you for the last 3 hours I'm OK." Thea tells him.

"How's Quentin? I don't recall much of when I got shot but I remember him freaking out." Ryan asks her.

"I called him a while ago once they released you from surgery and told us you were gonna be fine." Thea says.

"Thanks." Ryan replies.

"I should be thanking you, you saved my life." Thea tells him while she pulls up the chair closer to his bed and slumps down in it.

"Were you here the whole time?" Ryan asks her, seeing the clock on the wall across from him displaying that it's 2o'clock.

"Yes, mom and Walter were here too but I told them to go home a while ago." Thea informs him.

"What about Laurel, how did she handle the news?" Ryan asks.

"I don't think she knows, Mr. Lance couldn't reach her phone." Thea says.

"OK, well as you can see I'm alive and kicking though I guess I won't be throwing for a while so maybe you should head home. I'm sure your parents are worried." Ryan suggests.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." Thea protests.

"Come on, it's not that bad. I'll probably get released tomorrow morning." Ryan tells her.

"I'm not going anywhere until Laurel or Quentin come, you almost died." Thea tells him decidedly.

"From a gunshot to the shoulder?" Ryan asks doubtfully.

"The bullet was poisoned." Thea informs him, making him stare at her shocked.

"Well looks like I can't get you to leave huh?" Ryan asks her.

"What you want to get rid of me that badly?" Thea asks shocked.

"No, no, I just don't want to be such a bother." Ryan says, getting her to relax.

"Well come on, the bed is big enough for both of us." Ryan tells her and scoots over, grimacing in pain shortly.

"Are you sure?" Thea asks uncertain, not wanting to injure him further.

"Sure, I was shot before and a chair is not a good place to nap." Ryan tells her.

Thea climbs in the bed, lying down next to him in silence and glances over at him a few times, noticing him close to dosing off again and remembers something she wanted to ask him.

"Ryan you still awake?" She asks.

"Uh-huh." Ryan answers.

"What's your last name? The nurse wanted to know and I realized that I never got it." Thea asks him.

"Atwood." Ryan tells her quietly with his eyes closed.

"Well thank you for saving my life Ryan Atwood." Thea says and gives him a kiss on his cheek before both of them dose off slowly.

* * *

AN: let me know what you think :)


	5. Episode4

The same evening as the shooting Oliver carried the injured Diggle to his hideout and gave him the antidote to the curare he was poisoned with when one of Deadshots stray bullets hit him.

Once Diggle awakes hours later Oliver offers him to partner up with him, revealing that he's the hood in the process. Diggle turns down his offer, judging Oliver for his ruthless actions as the hood.

After Diggle left Oliver makes his way home. Once he arrives there he looks for his family and finds his mother sitting in the living room.

"Mom, are you OK did you all get out alright?" He asks her.

"My god, where were you?" Moira asks concerned going over to him and checking if he's injured.

"Diggle thought it'd be safer to wait things out, so we stayed low for a while." Oliver lies.

"Good, good." Moira says relieved.

"So where is everybody?" Oliver questions.

"Walter is with the police, giving his statement and Thea is with her friend in the hospital." Moira tells him.

"Wait, Thea is in the hospital?" Oliver asks panicking.

"She's staying with I think Ryan is his name, he got shot when he shielded her from a bullet by that shooter." She explains.

"Oh, I remember him. Laurel's co-worker, right? Did they treat him for curare?" Oliver asks hurriedly.

"I assume so, Walter and I left Thea after the doctors said he's safe." Moira replies.

"Oh, good then. Will she be OK there or do you want me to get Thea home?" Oliver says.

"No, she'll be fine. Plus Laurel called a few minutes ago, she's watching over her and Ryan. She arrived at the hospital not too long ago herself." Moira informs him.

* * *

|three days later|

Oliver wakes up startled, having had another nightmare about his time on the Isle.

He makes his way to the living room and sits down next to Thea who's also up watching a news report.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Thea asks her brother.

"Nope, what are you watching?" Oliver replies looking at the TV.

"Peter Declan. The guy who killed his wife. Right, so this guy killed his wife in his babies room, psycho." Thea explains after seeing her brothers clueless look.

"So why can't you sleep?" Thea asks muting the TV.

"Bad dreams." He replies.

"About?" Thea inquires.

"Laurel." Oliver replies.

"So why don't you make a play? I mean she did come over here the other day to make sure you didn't get shot." Thea tells him.

"There are reasons." Oliver says.

"What are they? Besides you sleeping with her sister and her sister dying and her father hating your guts and you being a jerk to basically everybody sine you've been back." Thea says.

"Those are the top ones." Oliver confirms.

"I know that it might not seem like it sometimes, but I I'm not the same person I used to be." Oliver says.

"So show her. Be yourself, I mean your new self." Thea suggests, making Oliver think about it.

* * *

|The next morning|

"How did you sleep?" Moira asks Oliver as he walks into the living room.

"Just fine, thank you. We have a visitor." Oliver replies looking at the man in a suit standing a few feet away from his mother who is reading the papers on the couch.

"Mr. Diggles replacement." Moira tells him.

"replacement?" Oliver questions surprised.

"Yes, he handed his resignation in this morning." Moira tells him.

"Did he say why?" Oliver asks.

"He said he didn't approve of the way you spent your evenings. Particularly that they always begin with you ditching him." Moira replies.

"Hi, Mr. Queen. Rob Scott." The new bodyguard introduces himself.

Oliver greets him and then turns on the TV's volume and hears that the victims wife worked for Jason Brodeur. Someone who is on his late fathers list.

Oliver then ditches his bodyguard and goes to his lair, where he researches Declan's case.

He quickly comes to the conclusion that Jason Brodeur is setting up Peter Declan, to cover up that he had his wife killed. Oliver decides to get Declan the only lawyer he can count on to do the right thing, Laurel.

That evening Oliver, dressed in his costume breaks into Laurel's place and waits for her there.

Once Laurel opens her door she flips the light switch only for it to not work, suspecting foul play Laurel cautiously enters her home and goes over to a cabinet near the door, fetching a gun, which she quickly aims at Oliver, who is standing behind her a few feet away.

"Hello Laurel." He greets her talking with a voice modulator.

"Don't move." Laurel threatens him, aiming her gun at him.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Oliver tells her, putting his bow down on a table.

"My father is a cop, you're making a huge mistake." Laurel tells him.

"I'm not the person you think I am and I need your help. Peter Declan is gonna be executed in 48 hours and I think he's innocent. Declans wife was going to blow the whistle on Jason Brodeur, Brodeur had her murdered." Oliver tells her.

"There are three thousand lawyers in Starling City, why me?" Laurel asks him.

"Because we're both trying to help." Olvier replies walking over to her and putting her gun down while he stands behind her.

"What makes you so sure I'm gonna help you?" Laurel asks.

"Cause I know you'd do anything to safe the life of an innocent man." Oliver tells her and vanishes.

Lurel then visits Declan in the prison the next day and questions him, hearing the same exact story the vigilante told her yesterday evening.

* * *

After her visit to the prison she visits her father, asking him about the case since he was the lead detective on the case and finds the lead, being the supervisors name.

While Laurel is doing this Oliver visits Diggle at the diner Diggle's sister in law works and offers Diggle to work together, to help the town and to find his brothers killer, the sniper Oliver stopped before.

In the meantime Moira lies to her husband, telling him that the missing 2,6 million dollars he discovered were an investment in a friends start-up but he asks Felicity to look into the missing money anyways.

* * *

"You really are putting a lot of hours into this Declan case aren't you. You really think he's innocent, don't you?" Joanna asks Laurel, when she is doing overtime to look over some files.

"Someone does." Laurel replies, handing Ryan, who's helping her another file.

"So you said, but you didn't say who." Joanna says.

"The guardian angel." Laurel tells her in a whisper.

"The hood, you`re kidding?" Joanna asks disbelieving.

"He tracked me down and asked me to look into the case." Laurel tells her.

"You've met him?" Joanna asks at which Laurel nods. At this point Ryan gets up from his seat and goes over to them asking "What the fuck Laurel, you had a chat with the hood?" worried about her.

"He stands against everything I believe in. He breaks the law and god knows what else." Laurel continues, ignoring her brother for now.

"How do you know that he's not gonna do god know what to you?" Joanna questions.

"Listen to Joanna, she's right." Ryan agrees.

"He won't. I don't know, I can feel it." Laurel tells them.

"When I told you, you should meet someone, this is far, far from what I meant." Joanna tells her and leaves the two siblings alone.

"Listen, I know I can't stop you once you've got your mind set on something, but I can try to minimize the risk, so whenever you talk to him I want to be there or I'm going to tell your dad." Ryan tells her decisively.

"I got your message. Is there a reason we can't do this face to face?" Laurel asks meeting the hood on a roof top with Ryan standing behind her with his arms crossed disapprovingly.

"What is he doing here?" Oliver asks sounding annoyed.

"I'm her safety-line." Ryan says eyeing the robin hood lookalike.

"You've met with Peter Declan?" Oliver asks Laurel.

"You were right, he might be innocent. He said his wife accused Brodeur the day she was murdered.

"Then we need to get whoever she told to testify." Oliver says walking around, making Ryan look at him cautiously and step in front of his sister.

"He already has. Matt Istook, Camille's supervisor." She tells him.

"He could be lying." Oliver says.

"Then he is very convincing he got questioned by Jury and police." Laurel says.

"He hasn't been questioned by me." Oliver tells her.

"I didn't become a lawyer to break the law." Laurel says.

"I do what's necessary, what people like Peter Declan need." Oliver tells her.

"If what you're doing isn't wrong then why are you hiding your face?" Laurel asks.

"To protect the people I care about." Oliver replies.

"That sounds lonely." Laurel says.

"It can be." Oliver says and leaves by swinging off the roof on a rope from an arrow he shot into a wall.

Oliver finds the supervisor and threatens his life until he gets him proof of Brodeurs wrong doings. The supervisor tells him where a file incriminating Brodeur is hidden and Oliver collects it, bringing it to Laurel a few hours later.

"Compliments of Matt Istook." Oliver says throwing the file onto her desk while he shut the power off to the room.

"What's in here?" Laurel asks.

"Leverage on Jason Brodeur, enough to safe Peter Declan's life." He says.

"Man you work fast." Ryan says looking at the man, sitting on the desk next to his sister.

"As an attorney I would've never gotten a file like this, I always thought the law is sacred." Laurel says looking the file over.

"And now Laurel, what do you think?" Oliver asks.

"I think there are too many people in this city who only think about themselves, who are selfish. And we need someone who cares about the lives of other people, someone like you." Laurel tells him.

"Just for the record, our opinions on this are different." Ryan says pointing between himself and Laurel.

"Then why are you here?" Oliver asks.

"To keep her safe, why else?" Ryan says.

* * *

|Next morning CNRI|

Quentin Lance walks into the bullpin in Laurel's office and goes over to her desk. "You know it is funny that Matt Istook, said the hood attacked him last night and I think that's funny because I just gave my daughter that very name. Were you in on this?" Quentin says, asking Ryan the last part.

"I tried to talk her out of it, I only acted as a bodyguard." Ryan defends himself.

"He's a vigilante, a damn criminal and working with him makes you an accessory." Quentin tells her.

"I'm trying to safe an innocent man's life." Laurel says justifying herself.

"No, you're breaking the law." Quentin argues.

"I wouldn't have to if the police had done it right in the first place." Laurel tells him.

"So when I asked you why you took this case you lied right to your face, I thought you and I don't do that." Quentin says disappointed and looks at Ryan telling him "and you, you should've told me."

"Hey either I tell you or I go with her to keep her safe." Ryan replies and Quentin leaves.

Laurel then meets with a judge and tries to move the execution day until the file's been taken into consideration but gets shot down.

Brodeur is panicking because Laurel threatens to expose him and his men tell him that they've got a plan to kill Laurel, when she's meeting Declan in Iron Heights.

Laurel and Ryan meet the hood that same evening and she explains the situation.

"We're not done yet." Oliver replies.

"I'm an attorney, trust me we're done." Laurel replies.

"What do you need to free Peter Declan?" Oliver asks.

"At this point, an signed confession from Brodeur." Laurel tells him and Oliver takes off, telling her "I'll get the confession."

Oliver quickly finds Brodeur and is threatening him with his bow and shoots him through his hand, when Brodeurs phone rings.

"Answer it." Oliver says.

"What?" Brodeur asks into the phone.

"It's going down in an hour." A voice says and Oliver turns the phone off.

"What's going down in an hour?" He asks aggressively.

"Let's just say Peter Declan's execution, it's getting moved up." Brodeur tells him and Oliver knocks him out before he hurries over to the Prison, where Declan is talking to Laurel and Ryan.

* * *

Once he arrives at the Prison Oliver steals a guards uniform and puts it on along with a ski mask and enters the prison, looking for Declan.

Elsewhere in the prison one of Brodeur's men infiltrated the prison by paying off a guard and tells him to release some prisoners, hoping they kill Declan, having set a price on his head but enters the prison just to be safe either way.

Laurel, Declan and Ryan hear the alarm go off and the guard assigned to them gets called into another block and tells them to stay there.

Th three go to the door, trying to ask him what's going on and see a guard getting killed by the inmates on the opposite site where their guard ran off to.

The three then run down the corridor and arrive to see their guard get knocked out by two escaped prisoners. One of them raises a gun at the two, when he gets shot down by an arrow.

"Let's go." Oliver tells them and leads them down a corridor, knocking out two of the guys chasing them. They see a team with riot shields come towards them and Oliver leads them into another room of to the side, where he gets surprised by Brodeurs man punching him in the face and one of his men starting to hit him with a pipe. Brodeur then knocks out Declan and grabs Laurel and throws her against a mesh fence and then onto the floor, starting to choke her. Ryan sees this and tackles the larger man off his sister and uses a move he's learned in his mma fighting classes to pin the mans arms to the ground by stepping on one while he kneels on the other arms elbow and starts to furiously punch the man in the face, knocking him out after the second or third punch but in his rage he continues on hitting him. While this is going on Laurel sees a barrel of a gun aimed at her curtesy of the other man but he falls down lifelessly when Oliver gets up behind the man and twists his neck, snapping it.

"Ryan stop." Laurel shouts panicking upon seeing her brother-figure punch at her attackers face, with his fist dripping with blood.

Laurel peels Ryan off the man and looks at the hood scared. In that moment the guards come rushing in and secure the two of them while Olvier escapes and the guards arrest the two unconscious men.

Once Ryan and Laurel are out of the prison Quentin is already waiting for them concerned and Laurel runs over to him, while Ryan walks over slowly as well, having hurt himself in his beatdown and opened his wound on the shoulder.

"I'm alright." Laurel says calming down her father to some degree.

"You sure?" He asks.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you before." Laurel says.

"You were right, Brodeurs bodyguard confessed to Declan's murder, but listen to me you are wrogn about this guy, he's outside the law." Quentin tells her.

"I know, he's a killer." Laurel says while Oliver watches them saddened.

"So, is there an EMT not busy somewhere?" Ryan asks jokingly as he goes over to the two, pressing a towel to his opened wound.

"My god son, what happened to you? You look like you've been cage fighting again." Quentin asks concerned, looking over Ryan's injuries.

"Feels like it too." Ryan replies with a smirk.

"Come on, sit down, I'll get somebody." Quentin tells him, letting Ryan sit on the hood of his car.

"What happened back there?" Laurel asks Ryan.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asks.

"I mean you kept hitting the guy even though you must've known he was down after the first two hits." Laurel asks him.

"I don't know, I just saw you hurt and lost it." Ryan tells her.

"You sure you're OK?" Laurel asks him.

"Yes, I've been through worse and you know it." Ryan tells her.

"Doesn't mean I like it." She replies.

"Still, having a competent fighter at hand is really handy ain't it?" Ryan asks grinning at her only for her to lightly shove his hurt shoulder, making him wince.

"That explains why he thought he can protect Laurel from the hood. I better watch out not to land on the wrong side of his fist." Oliver notes to himself and takes off.

After Quentin came back Laurel explains everything that happened and gets Quentin to think about what she says about the hood not wearing his usual costume and he looks at the security footage of the shooting at the exchange building again and he along with his partner see Oliver get some bag in a staircase with a hood in it and gets a warrant for his arrest.

Once Oliver gets up the next day he sees Diggle waiting for him in their living room and Diggle agrees to work with him, if only to help him safe himself, because he knows that Oliver is in way over his head to do this alone.

Shortly afterwards Oliver gets arrested and lead out of his house, right past his scared family.

* * *

AN: Hey guys, let me know what you think. I know not much Thea x Ryan yet and next chapter probably neither but from there on they should be appearing together more often.


	6. Episode5

The news of Olivers arrest is spreading around like a wildfire. That he is accused of being the local Vigilante only adds to the flames and the police station is crawling with Reporters.

"This is a mistake." Oliver tells Quentin as he is filling out his arrest report.

"It's OK, I'm just filling out some stuff for the arrest report. Have you been arrested before? I know that one, plenty of times." Quentin says crossing off something on the formular.

"Like I said, this is a mistake." Olvier tells him.

"As far as I can tell the only mistake I made was not shooting you down at the docks when I had the chance." Quentin replies hostile.

"I'm not who you think I am." Oliver says playing innocent.

"You're a dangerous man who doesn't care who he hurts except now you're using bows and arrows instead of trust funds and yachts." Quentin tells him.

"You hate me, I get it. But that doesn't make me a vigilante." Oliver says.

"No, the security camera having caught you with a green hood does that pretty well." Quentin says.

"And as I said, I fled to the stairwell and found a douffle that I thought belonged to the shooter and when I looked inside I saw a hood." Oliver tells him.

"Well we can't find it and what about the party across from Adam Hunt, right when he was attacked?" Quentin questions.

"That was a coincidence." Oliver says.

"No, when they pile up like that it becomes evidence." Quentin shoots back.

Olivers parents then come busting into the room and tell Quentin that until an attorney is present the interrogation is over and Oliver demands from his parents to get him Laurel as his attorney.

Moira goes to CNRI and finds Laurel.

"Can I ask who's representing him?" Laurel asks Moira after she told her that Olvier is in trouble, as Laurel already knew from the news report on the TV.

"That's why I'm here. He wants you." Moira tells her.

"Me?" Laurel questions stupefied.

"Yes, I told him it was a bad idea but to be frank I'm desperate." Moira tells her.

"He says if you don't represent him, he doesn't want any attorney." Moira informs Laurel.

"Mrs. Queen my father is the arresting officer and I don't think it's a good idea to represent someone I've been involved with." Laurel replies.

"It's alright, it was a bad idea on his part and I'm sorry I made you feel so uncomfortable." Moira tells her.

"Mrs. Queen, wait up." Ryan says stopping the woman from leaving, having overheard the conversation.

"I know it's unconventional, but I could represent Oliver, I mean I'm not a licensed attorney, but I snatched up a few things and would be willing to help out." Ryan offers going over to her.

"Thank you. I will suggest it to Oliver but I think he has his mind set on your sister." Moira replies with a smile.

"But in either case, it's good to see you again if you'd like you could come over sometime." Moira tells him and leaves to inform Oliver.

"Ryan what are you thinking? Do you want your career as a lawyer to end before it's even started?" Laurel asks him disapproving.

"What? You didn't want to and I've got to start somewhere and if I can't defend one of the few people I know, then why become a lawyer in the first place?" Ryan replies.

* * *

|court a few hours later|

"Where is your attorney Mr. Queen?" The Judge asks seeing him walk in without one present.

"I'm representing myself Judge." Oliver replies.

"Are you sure that is the wisest course Mr. Queen?" The Judge asks.

"I think it is. I'm innocent." Olvier says standing up.

"Then we'll consider that your plea." The Judge says.

"Thank you, your honor." Oliver replies.

"Now as to bail." The Judge says looking at the lawyers trying to proof Oliver's guilt.

"Mr. Queen's family owns a pair of private Jets. And while on the subject of their wealth there is virtually no real amount that could guarantee his presence at trial." The lawyer says.

"So then it's a good thing that the case is so circumstantial. Diana Laurel Lance your honor, I'd like to file my appearance on the behalf of the defendant. Mr. Queen's wealth should not deprive him of the possibility of bail under the presumption of innocence." Laurel says walking into the courtroom and standing next to Oliver while Ryan takes a seat behind the Queen family.

"He is a flight risk." The prosecution says.

"Then minimize the risk. The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the administrated ankle device." Laurel says.

"No he wouldn't." Oliver says but the Judge agrees to Laurel's solution and sets bail at 15 Million dollars.

"I knew you couldn't resist saving my ass." Oliver tells her happy that she's here.

"Actually, I'm doing this to safe Ryan's ass from taking on to much responsibility by trying to pull yours out of the fire." Laurel tells him.

"Thank you again for your previous offer, I have to ask though did you convince Laurel to take Olivers defense?" Moira says, turning back to Ryan when the Judge tells them that they're done for today.

"Involuntarily, I guess. She asked me why I wanted to defend him and my answer might have struck a nerve." He tells her grinning at the family while Thea looks at him surprised, not having known he offered to defend Oliver.

* * *

Oliver then gets brought home under police supervision and gets the ankle bracelet attached to him.

"OK. This device has a direct line to the precinct. Stay on the property and you're golden. Any questions?" The officer tells him finishing attaching the device.

"Yes, I'm having a sizeable get together here tomorrow evening and there is a better than likely chance that it spills into the outdoor pool." Oliver says.

"The pool's fine. Step on the gras and they're sending a swat team to forcibly subdue you." The officer tells him and Walter shows him outside.

"A sizeable get together?" Moira asks.

"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future, I might as well make the most of it and this party is gonna be themed. I'm thinking prison. The burning man meets shaw shakes redemption and the invite says: Come before Oliver Queen gets off." He tells her.

"Maybe a party is not the best taste, considering the circumstances." Tommy says.

"The circumstances are why we're having the party in the firstplace. I want people to know that I'm not worried about any of this." Oliver tells the three people in the room.

"Well that makes one of us." Moira says.

Soon after Diggle arrives and meets Oliver in his room where he tells him that getting arrested is all part of his plan, since he wants to throw the suspicion of him rather sooner than later and tells him about their next target, a german arms dealer trying to sell military grade weapons to streetgangs in the glades and asks Diggle to observe the man's movements with a device he has in his hideout.

Sometime later that day he meets with Laurel and Quentin and the prosecution's lawyer, who offer them a deal but Oliver tells them that he wants to take a polygraph to convince Quentin of his innocence. Laurel tells him that a polygraph is not valid for the jury but he wants to do it anyways, because her father is the one targeting him.

While this is going on Walter asks his head of security to move the remains of the Queen's Gambit to a secure location but soon after tasking the man with this the head of security dies in a car accident, raising Walter's suspicions.

* * *

|The next day|

"Hey Speedy one of the workers put the kegs too far from the bar. Can you ask him to move it please? I got the ankle thingy and don't want to set of a swat invasion." Oliver asks his sister who is sitting on a lounger in their backyard, lost in thought and she just stares back at him wordlessly, making him come out of the greenhouse and onto the terrace, sitting down next to her.

"Hey, all this stuff is gonna be fine I promise." Oliver tells her.

"Yeah well, when you and dad left on the yacht you promised you'd see me again in a few days. Which didn't happen." Thea replies solemnly.

"This is different. I didn't do any of this stuff, you know that. Right?" Oliver asks.

"You're out all the time. You have those scars and since you've been back you've been really weird." Thea tells him.

"None of this makes me some Robin Hood wannabe." Oliver tells her.

"And you gave me this. It's an arrowhead." Thea says holding up the stone arrowhead he gave her.

"Oh man. Thea I bought that at the giftshop in the Beijing airport." Oliver confesses to his sister.

"Now I'm kinda happy I didn't buy you the shotglass with the panda on it or you'd have thought I was pandaman." He tells her trying to make her laugh.

"You know, I know that you couldn't be this person, I just I can't lose you again." She tells him honestly.

"Deal." Oliver promises.

"On a happier note, why don't you invite your lawyer friend to the party?" Oliver suggests.

"I don't know, we barely know each other. Yesterday was only the fourth time I met him." Thea replies.

"And one of those times he saved your life, so he can't be that bad. And I thought you liked him. At least mom told me so." Oliver says.

"I don't know if I like him, he comes from like the opposite background and I don't think it could work out." Thea says saddened.

"You'll never know unless you give it a try. I mean Laurel isn't exactly from a wealthy background either and I still think that she's the one for me." Oliver tells her.

"OK, OK. I'll invite him. Happy now?" Thea says regaining some hope of maybe having a normal relationship.

"Now that you're smiling again, yes." Oliver tells her, giving her a hug.

"Now, about that keg…" Oliver says shaking his ankle and Thea goes to talk to the guy, making Oliver smile to himself while he debates if inviting Ryan is a good idea after what he did to the guy in prison.

* * *

Later that day Oliver takes the polygraph and passes the test, lying on any answer implicating him as the hood and on the question if he killed people before he tells Quentin that he killed his daughter when he asked Sarah aboard the ship.

That night Oliver's party is taking place in his giant backyard for the most part and people are dancing and drinking, dressed in prison themed costumes while a DJ. Is playing some music.

Oliver comes out of the house dressed in a blue jumpsuit with a name tag and motions for the DJ to cut off the music and greets his party guests saying "Hi everybody. I'm very touched that you came to celebrate with me before I'm send up the river and you know the next neighbors are six miles away so don't worry about the noise, you know on second thought, LET'S WAKE THOSE LOSERS UP!" and the music starts to play loudly again with everyone cheering.

After his little speech Diggle takes Oliver to his room where he shows him where the arms dealer is and Oliver sees that he's parked in a secluded spot for over 45 minutes and guesses that the arms deal is taking place right now.

"OK, since this is going down tonight, what do we do? Drop a daim on him for the cops?" Diggle asks.

"No, the man in the hood. He's gonna stop them." Oliver tells him.

"Oliver you can't leave the house." Diggle tells him.

"It doesn't have to be me in the hood." Oliver tells him.

"That's why you threw this ridiculous party? So you have a hundred people here as your witnesses while I'm across town dressed as a vigilante?" Diggle asks disappointed.

"I thought it was going to be good enough for you to be seen wearing the hood. I didn't count on Müller showing up and I didn't count on the possibility that the glades will be flooded with machine guns." Oliver tells him.

"Look, I promise it was never my intention to put you in harms way." Oliver says.

"Oliver I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free. I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everybody else in your life but I'm the one guy you don't lie to!" Diggle says.

"You're right, I'm sorry. So am I going to jail?" Oliver says when Diggle walks past him to the door.

"Nah man, I gotta stop an arms deal." Diggle tells him and leaves.

|A few minutes later|

Oliver is getting himself a glass of campaigner when Laurel arrives at the party with Ryan.

"Hey." She greets him.

"Hey, do we have a legal meeting or something, because I have friends over." Oliver greets her.

"Thanks for inviting me. I rarely get to go to fancier parties like this." Ryan tells him, shaking Oliver's hand as greeting.

"Thank you for saving my sister the other day." Oliver replies.

"Do you think you could rip yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave for a couple of minutes?" Laurel asks and Oliver leads them to his bedroom, where she tells him that it wasn't just Sarah who was lost to her family. Her mother left them too, explaining why her father is taking things so hard. She then tells him that she didn't even consider what happened to him, instead of only worrying about her family and apologizes since she didn't know about the torture or the scars he has, which he revealed during the polygraph. Oliver then shows her his scars at her request and tells her that the only way he survived was because she kept him going and they share an emotion filled kiss after which Laurel leaves abruptly.

* * *

Meanwhile with Walter and Moira, he is confronting his wife about the Queens Gambit and the sudden death of their head of security and she pleads him to stop looking into Robert's death and that he'll upset powerful people.

Diggle is also busy across town, where he takes out a few gangbangers who wanted to buy the guns while the german seller gets away.

* * *

While all this is going on Ryan is downstairs at the party, looking for someone in particular, Thea.

Maybe 5 minutes of searching for her, he finds her sitting by the pool with a glass of Champaign in her hand.

"Hey." Ryan says loudly to be heard over the music as he goes over to her.

"Hey." She greets him rather quietly, only looking up to him for a second.

"You OK? You seem kinda sad." Ryan asks her, sitting down next to her.

"I'm worried about Ollie…" Thea says and Ryan asks "What?" shifting his ear in her direction, not having understood her over the loud music.

Thea gets up and pulls him along with her, to her bedroom. Once there she shuts the door and window and sits down on her bed.

"I said I'm worried about Ollie." Thea repeats, now hearable since the music is silenced to a great degree.

"Why? He seems pretty confident that he'll get away scot free and Laurel is a good attorney." Ryan asks her.

"I know, but still. I don't want to lose him again, even if he's not fully here right now it's still better than not at all." Thea tells him while he sits down leaning against her bed, next to her.

"Did you tell your brother that you're scared to lose him?" Ryan asks her, looking up at the sad brunette holding her legs to her chest.

"Yes, but he only made jokes and tried to play it off like there is nothing going on." Thea informs him.

"Hmm, I guess he wants you not to have to worry about him but given him missing for five years I'm guessing that is rather impossible?" Ryan asks her.

"No shit." She agrees.

"Let's try this from a different approach, why don't we try to disprove Quentin's theory in some way. I mean you must know stuff about your brother and I met the hood twice, maybe we can find discrepancies?"

"Like what?" Thea asks interested in the idea, since it meant she could help instead of just sitting around helplessly.

"Let's start easy, well their height is around the same and build is similar, if anything I'd say your brother is buffer than the hood." Ryan tells her thoughtfully.

"How about his speaking patterns?" I haven't talked to him much so here you can shed some light." Ryan tells her and Thea begins to think about anything special her brother does regarding speech when they hear a loud crash and yelling coming from the room to their left.

"That's Ollie's room." Thea says scared.

"Hide. I'll go check it out, could just be some drunken guests." Ryan tells her and leaves the room while Thea hides herself behind a dresser.

* * *

|Moments before in Olivers room|

"Mr. Queen if you're entertaining guests upstairs should I have some drinks send up?" A hitman asks knocking on his door and pretending to be a waiter while he puts a silencer on his gun.

"No, I'm on my way back down." Oliver says going over to the door while he turns off his phone, on which Diggle just informed him, that he took care of the deal successfully.

Oliver opens the door and is met with the barrel of the gun and immediately pushes the hitman's arm to the side and punches him in the face, before he twists his wrist, so he drops the gun.

Oliver then knees him in the stomach during which a lamp falls down.

The Hitman tries to reach for his gun but Oliver flings them both over the couch in the room with such force it collapses underneath them.

The hitman tries to hit him but Oliver grabs the arm and jumps up, locking out the arm with both legs but the Hitman frees himself and Oliver hits him across the face, knocking him back enough for him to grab the gun, which he does and aims at Oliver. In that moment Ryan appears in the doorway and sees the gun aimed at Oliver and tackles the unsuspecting hitman from behind, making him lose the gun.

Ryan tries to lock him down with an mma maneuver but the hitman frees himself quickly and jumps to his feet and wants to run over to the gun but Ryan sweeps his leg and pulls on it once he's face down on the floor. He then attempts to pin him to the floor but the hitman elbows him in the face and pushes him on his injured shoulder, making Ryan lose his control over him.

Oliver in the meantime rushed over to them and lifts up the hitman, punching him multiple times, before the hitman jumps for the gun again, only for Ryan who got back up, to step on the gun and take him in a chokehold but Oliver, who can't risk having witnesses kicks the hitman in the face with enough force to snap his neck.

"You didn't have to do that. I had him." Ryan tells Oliver disapproving but relieved they are alive non the less.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to risk him breaking free again, you're not at 100% right now afterall." Oliver tells him, pointing at the small bloodstain on his shirt at shoulder height.

"Yeah, might not have been too much afterall." Ryan agrees, feeling his shoulder pulse with pain.

"Come on, I know my dad is somewhere here, let's get him. But first we have to fetch your sister." Ryan tells him." Leading Oliver outside and closing the door behind them, tucking away the gun in his jacket.

"Thea?" Oliver asks concerned.

"Yeah, I told her to hide when we heard your fight." Ryan informs him going over to Thea's room.

"What were you doing here in the first place? Not that I'm not glad in retrospect." Oliver asks the teen.

"We were thinking of ways to help clear your name and since you're throwing a party talking outside didn't seem to be an option." Ryan replies.

"OK." Oliver says still suspicious of him.

"Speedy?" Oliver asks once they enter the room.

"Thea, it's safe now." Ryan says.

"What happened?" Thea asks them, rushing over to the two and hugging them around their necks.

"Uhm, let's just say I had an unwelcome visitor." Oliver says, making Ryan look at him questioningly but Oliver motions a shushing sign behind his sisters back.

"Yeah uh and I helped him take care of the situation. You can relax now." Ryan tells her, brushing her arm gently.

"Right, we should go fetch detective Lance right?" Oliver says pulling Ryan along with a little force, not liking the teen get so chummy with his baby sister.

"Yeah." Ryan says following him with Thea going after them.

The three quickly spot the detective as he looks around the party disapprovingly and Ryan goes over to him.

"Ryan, what are you doing here?" He asks his surrogate son.

"Can you come with me quietly, please?" Ryan asks him, whispering in his ear and giving him a serious look. Quentin nods and the four of them go to Olivers room.

"Thea, I think you should wait outside, you don't need to see this." Oliver tells her.

"But…" Thea tries to protest but Ryan pulls her to the side.

"Thea, trust me there is no reason for you to see this. It'll only scare you, even though it's dealt with." Ryan tells her squeezing her hand and tells her "You should wait in your living room. I'm guessing the party will be cut short in a moment anyways."

"OK." Thea agrees reluctantly.

"What happened here?" Quentin asks Oliver angrily once he sees the dead man on the floor and the destruction in the room.

"He tried to kill Oliver, but we managed to take him down before he killed either of us." Ryan says walking into the room.

"Who is he?" Quentin asks, believing his surrogate son since he never lied to him before.

"I don't know, I'm guessing someone who's not a fan of the hood." Oliver tells him.

"Alright, gather in the living room, I need to secure the crime-scene and get your party guests to leave." Quentin orders.

"On it." Oliver agrees and starts to inform everyone to leave.

Ryan is going around looking into rooms and across the yard for left behind party guests with Thea and they kick out the few who didn't get the memo.

* * *

Once they are back in the living room Thea sees Oliver with an icepack on his hand and his leg elevated because of the device and sits down checking him over immediately but he assures her that he's OK and she should instead look over Ryan, who takes a seat on the couch across from theirs.

"Oliver are you alright?" Moira asks arriving with Walter, having been informed about what happened by Quentin.

"This is on you, by accusing my son publicly you've made him a target." Moira tells Quentin, pissed off.

"Do you have any idea who attacked Oliver?" Walter asks.

"We haven't identified him yet. Must be someone with a grudge against the hood obviously." Quentin replies and takes off Oliver's ankle device.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asks.

"Just got a call from my lieutenant, an arms deal was attacked across town tonight, by the vigilante. Multiple witnesses put him there, so all charges against your son are being dropped." Quentin tells them.

"I'm truly sorry for what happened to your family Quentin but would you kindly get the hell out of my house?" Moira tells him and Quentin asks Ryan "You coming with?"

"I'm OK. I just need to rest for a bit, I'll call you later." He tells him and Quentin leaves.

"Not to be impolite but what are you doing here?" Walter asks Ryan, only having seen him once when he got shot.

"I was invited to the party and happened to stumble upon the attack." Ryan tells him.

"He saved me." Oliver tells them.

"Thank you, once again you've saved one of my children, I don't know how to thank you." Moira says gratefully.

"Don't worry about it, what are friends for right?" Ryan replies.

"One question though, do you have a first aid kit or some bandages somewhere?" Ryan asks.

"Sure, I'll fetch them." Walter says but Thea stops him and says "I'll show him where they are." Getting up and Ryan follows her to another room.

"Wait a second they should be right … Ah here they are. Why do you need bandages though?" Thea asks collecting them from a cupboard.

"My wound opened up in the attack and I'm hoping to safe this shirt, it's one of my favorites." Ryan tells her humorously.

"Oh, let me help." She offers and Ryan takes off his Jacket and shirt, leaving him topless in front of the brunette. He quickly undoes the bandage across his shoulder with his other hand while Thea sneaks a few glances at his muscular frame. Once the old bandage is off, he checks the wound quickly and says "Looks OK, I don't think I need to get stitches a third time." He says.

"Third?" Thea asks surprised.

"There was this prison outbreak, long story." Ryan tells her and instructs her how to wrap the bandage around his shoulder. Once she's done he puts his jacket back on, zipping it up and folds his shirt into a small packet which he puts in a pocket.

"Thanks." He says with a smile.

"Don't thank me. If you hadn't put yourself in front of the bullet in the first place to safe me you wouldn't be having this problem." She tells him feeling guilty.

"Listen, me getting shot is not your fault. It happens when a madman shoots into a crowd with a sniper." Ryan says jokingly.

The two of them rejoin the three adults in the living room and Ryan bids his farewell. Oliver wants to lead him outside. Once they are alone he asks Ryan "So are you going to tell anyone about my abilities?"

"Not as long as you don't use them to hurt anyone close to me." Ryan replies and gets a nod of his head and a "Thanks." as reply.

The next day Moira confronts Malcom Merlin about him attempting to kill Oliver and threatens him, that if he moves against her family again he'll regret it.

Laurel also pays Oliver a visit with his results from the polygraph and she suspects that he was tricking the machine and tells him that she doesn't know who he is and that their attraction to one another can't happen again.

That evening Walter also decides to leave for a while and goes on a business trip, being unable to fully trust his wife.


	7. Episode6

In Oliver's hideout he and Diggle are training by using some metal bars as Escrimas and sparring against the other. During their training Diggle tells him that he'll have to reveal what happened on the Isle to him sooner or later after it came up where he learned the technique from.

When they take a break Oliver tells him who he thinks should be the next target but Diggle argues that they should take care of the robbers, who are robbing cities by threes and have robber Starling City trusts this morning, killing a cop in the process.

Oliver argues that he doesn't fight street crime and that it's only a symptom and he's fighting the disease. Diggle doesn't agree with his view of how they should operate but Oliver is resilient in believing that the only way to honor his father is to cross everyone off the list while Diggle thinks that if they can stop a crime they should whenever possible.

* * *

|At CNRI|

Laurel is going over her schedule with Joanna and she asks her who much time she'll need for a task when Tommy comes in and walks up to them.

"I have fiesta time or is it siesta time? Which one is a party and which one a nap?" Tommy asks.

"Tommy as much as I'd love to give you a Spanish course I'm busy." Laurel tells him.

"Of course, working in this tiny office encircled by brickwalls who can make time, but here's what I'm thinking, Coast City. Sunset flight on my plane, dinner at Brumes and I'll have you back by midnight or maybe in the morning." Tommy offers.

"What is this?" Laurel asks confused as she continues her work.

"This is what we talked about. This is you getting to know the real me." Tommy replies.

"Tommy so you don't misunderstand CNRI just lost his largest donor which means all of the hard work and sacrifices I've done to help this legal clinic survive it may have been for nothing." Laurel tells him upset.

"Maybe another time yeah?" Tommy replies and leaves feeling confused.

"Harsh sis, maybe you should cut him some slack? I don't think he knew about it." Ryan tells Laurel as he walks past her, making her think about it quickly before she refocuses herself on work.

* * *

|Queen Mansion|

"Haven't you notices that mom is upset a lot lately?" Thea asks her brother as they walk around the house and is met by silence.

"What am I saying? Of course you haven't." She says disappointed.

"Who are you to judge, since when do you pay attention to how mom's feeling?" Oliver challenges.

"Since our stepfather decided to take a business trip halfway around the world." Thea replies.

"If someone of Walter's paygrade takes a business trip it's always sudden so I wouldn't worry Speedy." Oliver tells her.

"Ah, guess who I just hung up with." Moira says greeting her children as they make their way down the stairs.

"Jenice Bowen, Carters mother." She tells them.

"Ah, Carter Bowen the perfect son." Oliver says laughing.

"Is he perfect?" Moira asks playing innocent.

"According to you. Carter Bowen just won the national chess championship, Carter Bowen is anchoring the debate team." Oliver says recalling what her mother said in the past.

"I'm sure I didn't make that much of a fuss." Moira replies.

"Oliver, Carter just got accepted into Harvard and Stanford." Thea says playfully.

"That is because Carter got a perfect score on his SATs." Oliver adds.

"But how did he manage to study and cure cancer?" Thea asks.

"Alright, alright I get it. They are coming to brunch and I expect you to be there." She tells them.

"I have plans." Oliver says.

"That's fine. The brunch is tomorrow." She says making Thea laugh at Oliver's misfortune.

"I think she just ruined your clean getaway." Thea taunts her brother.

"Oh you'll be there too Thea." Moira tells her daughter.

"Snap." Oliver says snipping at his sister.

"Nobody says that anymore." Thea informs him.

"Mom, I can't actually go." Oliver tells his mother as she starts to walk away.

"I haven't seen the Bowen's in years, so whatever it is that you have planned I'm sure the two of you can make this sacrifice just this once." Moira tells them.

"OK, we'll be there." Oliver agrees.

"Mom, can we bring a guest to this brunch?" Thea asks.

"Who did you have in mind? Tommy? Because I thought about him too." Moira asks.

"I was actually thinking Ryan, but Tommy sounds even better." Thea says, having a secret crush on her brothers' best friend.

After Thea and Moira left Oliver gets a call from Diggle who tells him to come to Starling General, because Oliver's next target tried to kill himself. Just as Oliver is about to leave the house Tommy appears in the door.

"Hey, I just got a new sportscar so I'm thinking we can open her up, pick up a few speeding tickets." Tommy greets his friend.

"That sounds great, but I gotta jet." Oliver replies.

"OK, nice talk thanks." Tommy says sarcastically when Oliver already went past him.

"Oh hey, we were just talking about you." Thea says greeting Tommy.

"Really why?" Tommy asks.

"Brunch tomorrow, with the Bowens. You going to come?" Thea asks.

"Carter Bowen huh, I think I'll pass thanks." Tommy tells her, looking back where Oliver disappeared to.

"Goes fast doesn't he?" Thea asks.

"It's ironic because you're the one we call Speedy." Tommy tells her.

"Called please, for the love of god. But if you need somebody to talk to…" Thea offers embarrassed that he called her by her old nickname.

"You know, maybe you could help. There is this girl that I'm interested in and I'm really not sure how to pursue it." Tommy says.

"Have you tried using you usual lines? Hi my name is Tommy Merlin and I'm a billionaire." Thea asks him.

"Yeah she is aware of that and she doesn't care. Money isn't really a big deal to her." Tommy answers.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" Thea asks.

"I've known her for a long time and I'm not really sure the direct approach is the right way to go." Tommy tells her.

"Maybe you just have to figure out what's a big deal to her and make is a big deal to you." Thea suggests, thinking he was talking about her.

"Thea, you're amazing. Love you." Tommy says leaving the Mansion.

Once Oliver arrives at the hospital Diggle introduces him to the wife of the police officer who got shot and Diggle convinces him to work the bank robberies. In order to find out the robbers identities Oliver sees a ring on one of the robbers fingers and sneaks into the police station to steal the files, amongst them a picture of the injury one of the bank employees sustained when he got punched and Oliver can pull the imprint of it and run it through a database and soon finds the shooters identity and figures out that the whole family is robbing the bank together.

* * *

|The next day - CNRI|

"Alright, so where are you going to take me today, Monte Carlo?" Laurel asks walking into her workplace and sees Tommy chatting with Joanna.

"Actually, I was just telling Jo here that the Merlin global group is looking to expand its philanthropy and I thought we could start by sponsoring a benefit for CNRI." Tommy says.

"Cute Tommy, but I think we can manage without your family's finances." Laurel replies.

"Laurel a word." Joanna says intervening and pulls her aside.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"He's not interested in throwing us a fund raiser, what he wants to do is have his first annual attempt to get into my pants." Laurel says.  
"Who cares why he's doing it, we need the money." Joanna tells her.

"Not like that we don't." Laurel says.

"We really do. So you're going to listen to your best friends advice and you're going over there and say: Thank you Tommy we'd be honored if you'd throw us a fund raiser." Joanna tells her.

"Thank you Tommy. We'd be honored if you'd throw us a fundraiser." Laurel repeats obviously not liking it.

* * *

|Queen Mansion|

"Well I'm sorry Walter couldn't join us." Mrs. Bowen says sharing a glass of Orange juice with Moira, Thea and her son Carter.

"Oh well, the Australia trip came up suddenly. He sends his apologies." Moira says.

"Where is Oliver, he's not out of town too is he?" Carter asks.

"I'm sure he's just…" Moira says when Oliver shows up saying "Stuck in traffic, one of the things I didn't miss on the Island, Sunday drivers. Sorry I'm late."

"I'm so happy to see you, we all thought you had…" Mrs. Bowen says hugging Oliver once he hugged his mother and sister as greeting.

"We're just glad he's home." Moira says.

"And returning as a celebrity." Carter says shaking his hand.

"How do you mean?" Oliver asks.

"Billionaire scion cast away for five years I'm sure there is a bidding war for the rights to your life's story. At least that's what my agent says." Carter says as they all take seats at the table.

"Agent? I thought you were a neurosurgeon Carter." Oliver replies.

"I know it's crazy. One time I'm publishing this book on a medical theory and the next thing I know some agent is trying to make me the next doctor OZ." Carter says.

"Why would he want you to be a wizard?" Oliver asks questioningly making everyone chuckle.

"For all our sake's start reading us weekly." Thea suggests and then asks Moira "Mom, why is there another plate?" Seeing another seat prepared next to her.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you honey. I picked up your idea to invite Ryan afterall. He should be arriving soon." Moira tells her.

"Ryan? Who is that?" Mrs. Bowen asks.

"Oh he's a family friend and we wanted to have him over anyways so we thought why not introduce him to you as well." Moira replies.

"Olvier, what are your plans are you going to be working for Queen Consolidated?" Carter asks him.

"I'm opening a nightclub." Olvier replies, making Thea have to stifle her laughter and Diggle walks in saying "Sir, your liquor distributor is on the line", whispering to him that another bank is being hit right now.

"Sorry, business." Oliver apologizes leaving the table.

Moira goes after him and asks "Oliver, where are you going?" disappointed.

"Something's come up. I'm really sorry." He apologizes and leaves with Diggle. Just as he steps out Ryan comes in.

"Good to see you…" Ryan says but Oliver is going straight past him.

"Sorry, did I come at a bad time?" Ryan asks Moira unsure as he walks into the foyer, wearing a blazer and dress shirt as well as a black jeans.

"No, no come in. Oliver just has something to deal with about his nightclub apparently." Moira tells him, giving him a hug.

"Nightclub huh?" Ryan asks.

"Yes, now come on we're about to eat. I'm sure Thea will be glad to have some company now that Olvier is gone.

"I thought you had friends over?" Ryan asks confused.

"Yes well, my friends. Not my childrens' I'm afraid." Moira tells him and leads him to the dining room.

"Hi." Ryan greets everyone waving at them and sits down at the seat next to Thea, her mother points him to before she retakes her own seat.

"So Ryan, we only heard you're a family friend, what do you do?" Carter asks the younger teen.

"I'm a secretary for CNRI but I'm thinking of starting law-school." Ryan replies.

"So how do you know the Queens?" Mrs. Bowen asks him.

"Uh, Oliver is my sisters ex, as well as old friend and I've helped them once or twice." Ryan replies.

"You are having legal issues?" Mrs. Bowen asks Moira shocked.

"No, gods no. Ryan, you don't have to be so shy. He saved both of my childs life." Moira replies.

"Really, what happened?" Carter asks.

"I was almost shot during that sniper incident and Oliver almost got killed by a hitman when he was mistaken for the hood." Thea tells them, starting to eat.

"Oh that must have been scary." Mrs. Bowen says.

"Not the first time I've been shot, or the first time I got pummeled by a professional." Ryan replies offhandedly and follows Thea's lead, starting to eat.

"Really." Mrs. Bowen says surprised.

"Happens when you live in the glades and are defending champion in a cage fighting arena." Ryan tells them.

"Cage fighting? At your age?" Moira asks shocked.

"Well the illegal ones were while I was in foster care and had to win some money somehow." Ryan says.

"I thought you said Oliver knows your sister." Carter says.

"She's not my real sister but she took me in when I saved her from some gangbangers. Laurel Lance, maybe you've heard of her?" Ryan replies.

"I went to highschool with her and I'll meet her tonight at the fund raiser." Carter replies.

"Oh right, that's today, well looks like I can stay in this monkey suit for the rest of the day then." Ryan jokes, making Thea chuckle.

"You know Ryan, my son is a neurosurgeon." Mrs. Bowen brags.

"That's a brain doc right?" Ryan asks, making Thea almost burst out laughing.

"In lamest terms yes. I operate on brains and discover their functionality." Carter replies.

"Know anything about bullet wounds and how long they take to heal up? Cuz mine reopened like three times already." Ryan asks rolling his shoulder, while giving Thea, who's grinning like a madman, a smirk.

"Well, I'd have to take a look but in general I can…" Carter says when Ryan cuts him off saying "great, after brunch then?"

"Alright I guess." Carter agrees.

Moira then tries to get the conversation back on a more fitting topic, while Thea leans over and whispers "That was hilarious, did you do that on purpose?"

"Maybe a little bit." Ryan replies with a grin.

* * *

Meanwhile with Oliver

The bank robbers are escaping by using the steam tunnels under the bank when both the police and Oliver as the hood engage them in a fight, during which Oliver pins down the money they were trying to steal and forces them to escape.

Olvier tries to stop the robberies before they happen but can't find an address for the family and asks felicity to look them up for any sign of digital life and she informs him that the father was an employee for Oliver's father before they started to rob banks. So Olvier decides to confront the father and try to offer him a good way out with a new job but he refuses to take charity and the family decides that they are going to do one last heist before they retire.

* * *

|CNRI banquet|

"Wow, you just look really lovely." Tommy tells Laurel, seeing her walk over to him.

"Well it's good to see you've extended your vocabulary from hot and mega hot." Laurel teases.

"Could have said thank you, you know." Tommy says.

"Thank you, you know." She repeats.

"You're welcome." Tommy says giving her a smile.

Tommy then sees Thea at the bar and excuses himself from Laurel and Joanna who just came over.

"Thanks for coming." Tommy says hugging Thea.

"Thank you for inviting me." She replies.

"Well I figured the entire Queen family and their checkbooks should be present." Tommy says playfully.

"Right and how is it going for you so far?" Thea asks.

"It is going amazing and all because of you, Thea Queen the unlikely voice of reason." Tommy tells her.

"Aww, me? What did I do?" Thea asks with a wide grin.

"Gave me that great advice. I thought about what the girl was interested in and it's working" Tommy says stepping aside and looking at Laurel.

"And you did this for Laurel." Thea says disappointed, which Tommy doesn't notice.

"Thanks again Speedy." Tommy says before he rejoins Laurel.

"Yeah, anytime." Thea says to herself and takes a glass of Champaign, chugging it down in one go.

"Oh hey Tommy, you remember Carter Bowen from high school?" Laurel asks him.

"It's good to see you, and you. You look amazing. I'm so impressed at the work you and CNRI are doing. You know I've actually been thinking of starting a free clinic down here in the glades, maybe grab a couple of drinks and tell you what I'm thinking?" Carter says talking to Laurel mostly.

"That sounds great." Laurel agrees and walks off with him.

"Hi." Oliver greets his mother.

"Hello, I didn't think you were going to make it given your hectic schedule." Moira says.

"Mom, about the stuff with the Bowens earlier, I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise." Oliver apologizes.

"That is nothing new for you Oliver, I know you and I have had our difficulties, but I always thought that you and I had a connection. So can you imagine, after being granted the miracle of having my child return to me that you seem to have little to no interest in being with me or telling me the truth." Moira tells him.

"Mam." Diggle says coming over to the two and informs Oliver that they're hitting the next bank right now.

"I have to go. I'm sorry." Oliver apologizes.

"Don't bother apologizing, honestly there are times when I wonder why you even come home Oliver." Moira replies.

Oliver then leaves the banquet and goes to stop the robbery. During him intervening the father gets shot by the security guard who regained his consciousness during their fight.

Meanwhile at the banquet Tommy is drinking and sulking to himself as he watches Laurel dance with Carter.

"Did you know that as a doctor I'm able to diagnose myself as a giant tool." He says to himself, taking a sip.

"Good one." Ryan says walking past him as he tries to find new donors, having been tasked by Joanna to put up a nice front.

"How about a dance handsome?" Thea asks Tommy, obviously drunk and leans on his shoulder.

"Hey, I thought that we agreed, you'd call me before you did something stupid." Tommy tells her.

"You're no fun. I'm going to show you how to have some fun." She tells him and tries to pull him in for a kiss but Tommy takes her hands off his neck asking "Whoa, what are you doing?" shocked.

"You said I was amazing." Thea says confused, thinking in her drunken state that he's into her.

"Thea you are amazing but you're also like my sister. My baby sister." Tommy tells her.

"Well I'm not a baby anymore. Thank you for noticing." Thea tells him, she sees over his shoulder and sees her dancing with Carter.

"Hah, Laurel doesn't even like you. She doesn't understand you. I do. Why can't you just see that?" Thea asks.

"Thea, it was a mistake to talk to you about girls. It was inappropriate and I think it may have confused you." Tommy tells her, leading her away.

"Another rejection? It's pretty clear. Even if it wasn't, between my mom and Oliver and everybody in my entire life I'm pretty much used to it by now." Thea tells him and steps away backwards, into a waiter and knocks over some glasses which catches the attention of the nearby guests, amongst them Laurel and Ryan.

* * *

Both of them go after Thea and Tommy and find them in the alley behind the banquet where Thea is throwing up with Tommy's jacket over her shoulders.

"Tommy?" Laurel asks.

"Yep?" Tommy says.

"Is Thea OK?" Ryan asks.

"Yeah, she just ate some bad crab cakes." Tommy says and Laurel gives him a look while Ryan goes over to the girl.

"Are you sure it wasn't something she drank?" Laurel asks.

"Don't worry. I got it. You can go back inside. You were having a nice little Dosie-do with the good doctor." Tommy tells her.

"Tommy I'm gonna let you in on a little secret about doctor Carter Bowen. The man is a gigantic ass." Laurel tells him.

"And he knows squat about gunshot wounds." Ryan adds from his spot next to Thea, holding her hair out of her face.

"And the only reason I danced with him is because he wrote a massive check to CNRI. Why would you think anything else?" Laurel informs him while Tommy looks at Ryan with confusion.

"I guess when it comes to you I tend to not think straight." Tommy confesses.

"Can you call me a cab?" Thea asks Tommy having stopped puking and goes over to the two adults with Ryan behind her.

"Forget that. I'm sure the good old Tommy won't mind us borrowing his car while he goes dancing with my sister, right?" Ryan asks.

"Uhh, I guess not." Tommy agrees, throwing him the keys after looking at Laurel for any objections.

"Sorry for making such a scene." Thea says giving Tommy his jacket back whispering "please don't hate me." With fear written on her face. Tommy only gives her a hug whispering never. She then enters the car with Ryan opening the door for her, after his own jacket across the girl's shoulders.

"Don't worry, just feel better OK?" Laurel tells her.

"Is it OK to leave those two on their own?" Tommy asks Laurel quietly.

"Yeah, Ryan knows what he's doing and don't worry he's a gentleman like you." Laurel tells him, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Alright, let's get you home." Ryan tells her and starts up the car, driving then to the Queen mansion.

The ride was quiet with Thea being ashamed of herself and Ryan focusing on driving while wondering about what happened between Thea and Tommy.

When they arrive in front of the mansion Ryan shuts off the car and goes around it, opening the door for her before locking the car.

"There is a key under the welcome mat." Thea tells him, taking off her high heels once they are on the pavement.

"Original." Ryan says amused and fetches the key, opening the door for them.

"Thank you. I'm alright now." Thea says but Ryan follows her into the house saying, "No you're not and we both know it." Ryan brings Thea to the living room before he searches for the kitchen and fetches her a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Thea says accepting the water.

"So if you don't mind me asking why'd you get drunk? I mean it was a banquet not a party." Ryan asks some mirth hidden in his voice.

"It's nothing." Thea replies sadly.

"Come on, just tell me. Can't be worse than what my mom once told me." Ryan says.

"What'd she say?" Thea asks.

"I drink because I gave birth to you." Ryan quotes his mother, some embarrassment in his voice.

"I tried to hit on Tommy." Thea tells him quietly, fearing that he'll leave and reject her just like everyone else.

"Tommy huh? Bit old don't you think?" Ryan asks trying to lighten the mood.

"He was always there for me when Ollie was gone and I relied on him a lot, so when he asked me for advice about a girl he knows for a long time who doesn't care about money I thought he meant me." Thea tells him embarrassed and puts her head into her legs, which she pulls up on the couch.

"So what'd he say?" Ryan asks.

"You are amazing but you're also my sister. My baby sister." She repeats.

"Well he is right, you are amazing." Ryan says.

"What?" Thea asks surprised.

"I too think you're amazing." Ryan says.

"What are you talking about?" Thea asks.

"Come on, do you really think I'd voluntarily sit through a meal with dr. Carter Bowen if I didn't like someone at the table? And no offense to your mom but I don't think we have much in common." Ryan tells her laughing and gets Thea to chuckle herself.

"Well I guess at least one person didn't reject me yet then." Thea says leaning on his shoulder as he sits down next to her.

"Why would I reject you, you're perfect. Well if you overlook the frequency in which you get drunk." Ryan tells mirthfully.

"Shut up." Thea complains with a big grin.

"Do you want me to bring you to your bed?" Ryan asks her, seeing her about to doze off, but she doesn't reply and is out like a light.

"Guess that's a yes. Hope Oliver doesn't get the wrong idea and snaps my neck like that hitman's." Ryan murmurs to himself as he picks up Thea in his arms and carries her to her room, where he lies her on her bed and puts the covers over her, having put her on her side to be safe, incase she's not done throwing up. He then steps into the hallway but lets the door open so he can see her incase she does throw up or something while she's out.

A few hours later Moira is fixing herself a drink after she came back from the banquet.

"Nightcap?" Oliver asks his mother, standing in the doorframe.

"Well I thought it might help me. I don't sleep well alone." Moira replies downing the drink.

"I'm sorry about what I said tonight." She apologizes, turning towards her son.

"No, you were being honest." Oliver tells her.

"Not entirely. The truth is with Walter being gone I'm lonely and you know you and I used to talk. I used to know what you're thinking but now even when you're home you are somewhere else. I guess I just miss my son." Moira tells him.

"I miss you too and I wish that… are you hungry?" Oliver says.

"What do you have in mind? Oh Ryan what are you doing here?" Moira replies asks the teen, seeing him come down the stairs.

"I heard some noise and figured you guys are back. Thea was upset at the banquet and had a glass too much I'm afraid. I brought her to her room but I think someone should stick around just in case." He tells them.

"Oh, thank you." Moira says.

"And I know it's most definitely not my place but friendly advice, Thea is having a hard time coping with you two being closed off and I don't think she'll get rid off her bad habits unless you open up to her." Ryan tells them.

"Ryan it's nice of you to take care of my sister but I don't think this is any of your concern." Oliver tells him.

"Sorry, just thought I'd tell you directly, well good night." Ryan says bidding them farewell leaves, bringing Tommy's car to his home, having looked up the address on his phone.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hello?" Oliver answers his phone, stopping his motorcycle as he makes his way to the front of the Queens consolidated building.

"Mom said I'm supposed to remind you to pick her up for lunch." Thea says bored.

"Was I supposed to have lunch with her today?" Oliver asks.

"She said she left you like five messages. Just bite the bullet and have a salad with the woman." Thea tells him.

"You know Thea, sometimes it's getting hard to remember which one of you is my mother." Oliver says ending the call.

When he parks, he waves at his mother and hears another motorcycle speeding up from behind him and turns to look at it and sees the driver aiming a gun at his mother's direction.

"Get down!" Oliver yells, getting the attention of the man Moira was talking to, who turns towards him and gets shot in the chest three times, knocking over Moira to the ground in the process.

Oliver runs over to his mother and checks if she's OK and when employees of theirs come out of the building he tells them to call the police and chases after the gunman, using backalley shotcuts to cut him off but just as he's about to gain on him a truck blocks him off.

* * *

|hospital- about an hour later|

"Hey are you OK?" Oliver asks walking into his mothers room, having just arrived at the hospital while Thea was already there as soon as her mother was brought in.

"I'm fine." She says trying to reassure him.

"Did you reach Walter?" Moira asks Thea who shakes her head negative telling her "No, I'm sorry."

"As I was telling your mother and sister, the cat scans showed a minor concussion. She can go home so long as someone stays with her to make sure there are no aftereffects." The Queens doctor informs Oliver.

"Thank you." Oliver tells him as the doctor makes his way out of his patients' room.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you. I thought you were fine." Oliver apologizes to his mother.

"What did you think you were doing anyway?" Moira questions.

"I wanted to get that license plate of the guy who took a shot at you." Oliver tells her pausing to come up with a good excuse, something Thea notices.

"Yeah, well that was foolish." Moira tells him and Oliver gives her a hug before stepping outside with his sister.

"So did you get a license plate?" Thea asks confronting her brother.

"No, he got away." Oliver replies.

"Maybe you should spend a little less time trying to be a hero, you're obviously not very good at it." Thea tells him judgingly.

"That's cute." Oliver says.

"Wasn't trying to be. You left mom in the street, alone and hurt. In the street. To get a license plate?" Thea asks him suspicious of him.

"You don't believe me?" Oliver asks surprised.

"I love you Oliver, mom loves you but it's getting hard to, when you're not being truthful with us." Thea tells him before she goes back in her mother's room.

"Detectives, do you have any leads on the shooter?" Oliver asks Quentin and his parter, seeing them round the corner and head right to his mother's room.

"Not yet. Did you get a good look at him?" Quentin's partner asks.

"No, he was wearing a helmet." Oliver tells him.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." The man says.

"My head of security is on his way I want to make sure there is someone in front of my mother's door at all times. She needs to be protected." Oliver tells them.  
"Well you know your family is at the tippy top on my list of priorities but the guy she was with was connected. Mobbed up to the eyeballs connected, she wasn't the target." Quentin tells him.  
"But I'll make sure he puts someone on guard duty anyways." Ryan says having arrived a few moments earlier, having heard from Quentin what happened.

"Thanks." Oliver says stoically, going past the three.

"What are you doing here?" Quentin then asks Ryan.

"What, it's my day off and I came to make sure Mrs. Queen is alright, and that Thea's doing OK." Ryan replies mumbling the last part.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't interfere with our investigation, got that?" Quentin tells his surrogate son.

"Pretend I'm not here." Ryan says holding up his hands.

"As if you were ever not here." Quentin mumbles as the three knock on Moira's door.

"Come in." Moira says and the three enter the room.

"We're sorry to disturb you Mrs. Queen but we have to ask you some questions and get a statement." Quentins partner tells her politely.

"That's quite alright, come on in." Moira replies and then asks Ryan with wonder "Ryan, what are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened and thought I'd see how you're doing." Ryan informs her.

"Oh, thank you. I'm quite alright. Thea, why don't you step outside with him I don't think you'll need to be here while I'm giving my statement." Moira tells her and the brunette steps outside with her blonde friend.

"Hey, so how is she really?" Ryan asks the girl, taking a seat next to one another on the chairs across the hall from Moira's room.

"She has a minor concussion but the doctor says she can go home as long as she stays under supervision." Thea informs him.

"That's good, right?" Ryan asks unsure as he sees her bad mood.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry I'm a little distracted." Thea apologizes.

"What's up?" Ryan questions, looking directly at her.

"It's everything with Oliver. He's just so secretive. He left our mother lying on the street hurt to chase after some license plate allegedly." Thea tells him.

"why allegedly? He's quite fast from what I've seen." Ryan replies.

"It's just how he said it. He paused to think of an excuse." Thea tells him.

"And it's not just that it's his sudden disappearances and him never talking about what happened while he was gone." Thea adds thoughtfully.

"PTSD?" Ryan suggests.

"Maybe. I don't know anymore and to be honest I'm getting tired of trying with him." Thea says sounding exhausted.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later." Ryan tells her, squeezing her hand supportively.

"Thanks. You know the funny thing I barely know anything about you, but I'm feeling closer to you than I do to him." Thea tells him.

"Well what do you want to know?" Ryan asks chuckling.

"No but seriously, I think they both would like to be honest with you but are too scared to from what I've seen when I told them that they are hurting you by not being honest with you." Ryan tells her.

"You did what now? When?" Thea asks shocked.

"When you were passed out after the CNRI banquet." Ryan answers.

"What did they say?" Thea asks curiously

"Not much, I think Oliver was about to throw me out though hadn't I been leaving already." Ryan tells her somewhat amused.

"Sorry, like I said I don't get him. And thanks for helping me that night once again. I'm seriously starting to feel silly with how often you've already helped me the last few weeks." Thea tells him embarrassed.

"It's alright, we all struggle sometimes. You turn to alcohol while I turned to fighting when I was having a hard time." Ryan tells her, patting her hand.

"OK you can go back in now." Quentin then tells them coming out of Thea's mothers' room.

"See you later dad?" Ryan asks his surrogate father before he joins the Queens' women.

"Sure, just make sure you stay out of their business." Quentin tells him pointing at Moira's hospital room.

"Dad, I'm their friend. If they need my help, I'll help them." Ryan replies and enters the room.

"So Ryan how are things with you?" Moira asks the teen once he entered her room.

"Uhm, OK I guess. NCRI is looking up thanks to Tommy's fundraiser and I got my stitches removed." Ryan informs her.

"Good. So, I'm supposed to be under supervision, care to join us for lunch?" Moira asks him.

"Sure, I'd love to." Ryan replies while looking more at Thea than Moira, making the mother smile to herself knowingly.

* * *

|that evening|

Tommy is paying Laurel a visit, having gotten Sushi takeout for them to eat together. During their dinner he Tommy asks her out, to which Laurel agrees.

Oliver is meeting with Diggle in their hideout and Oliver informs him that the target was the man his mother was with, someone who is part of Frank Bertenelli's crew and that he's not the first one associated with the mob boss to die.

After making his way back home Oliver puts on a suit to meet up with Frank Bertenelli and infiltrate his empire.

As he makes his way downstairs to the lobby he sees Thea and Ryan, who spend the day with the two Queen women making their way out.

"Speedy, where are you going?" Oliver asks.

"I'm going to take Ryan clubbing. It's difficult to do in your house and not an actual club." Thea tells him.

"I have to go out tonight, I thought you were going to watch mom." Oliver says.

"I spend the whole day with her. I thought you were going to take the nightshift." Thea replies accusingly.

"I'm sorry, but this thing. It's important." Oliver tells her.

"You know sometimes Ollie, I just don't get you and by sometimes, I mean never." Thea says.

"You're actually not the first person to say that to me today." Oliver replies.

"Why am I not surprised?" Thea says upset.

"Oh, nice dress where are you headed?" Tommy asks Thea, entering their house.

"Upstairs apparently." Thea says pissed and goes upstairs, pulling Ryan along behind her.

"Hey, I heard about your mom is she alright?" Tommy asks Oliver once Thea and Ryan are gone.

"She's resting upstairs, more shaken up than anything. I gotta run to this business thing but I do appreciate you stopping by." Oliver tells him.

"It's no problem just so long as your mom's alright." Tommy replies.

"Yeah." Oliver confirms again and walks past his friend.

"Hey, one more thing. Mainly because I don't want you to find this out from someone else, that someone else being Laurel. We're going to dinner, as in a date." Tommy tells him.

"That's good. Laurel deserves someone special and so do you. I gotta run." Oliver tells him after a short pause.

"Absolutely, so I'll catch you later?" Tommy says.

"Oh and Tommy if you hurt her I'll snap your neck. I'm just kidding." He tells him jokingly.

After Thea and Ryan went upstairs she tells him "You know if you want to you can leave. I don't think there will be anything exciting going on tonight if I have to sit in my mom's room."

"I don't mind. I don't have anything else planned anyways and Laurel wanted the apartment for herself tonight, so I think I'd like to stick around rather than spend the night wandering around the city." Ryan tells her.

"OK. Just give me a second, I'll go change out of this dress." Thea tells him and enters her room while Ryan sits outside leaning against the wall.

A few minutes later Thea comes out of her room, now dressed in her pjs.

"Don't laugh." She tells him once she sees him looking her new attire over.

"I wasn't about to, I think you look cute." Ryan tells her with a grin.

"Thanks." Thea says not fully convinced and goes to her mothers' room, knocking on the door.

"Oliver did you come home already?" Moira asks and Thea opens the door, looking in to see her mother in her bed looking through a magazine.

"No mom, Ollie already left again. Apparently some business deal. It's me and Ryan again." Thea tells her.

"Oh, Ryan is still here?" Moira asks surprised.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind Mrs. Queen." Ryan says as he and Thea enter her mothers' room.

"No, that's quite alright. I'm sure Thea appreciates the company." Moira tells him.

"So what are you in the mood for? We could watch, the reality housewife cooking show, or cop-docs. That's where doctors run around fighting crime when they're not all sleeping with each other." Thea asks them as she lies down next to her mother, while Ryan takes a seat on the large chair in the woman's room.

"Whatever you want, you two. You are the ones giving up your evening out." Moira says looking through her magazine.

"Well it's not like there is anybody else that could be staying with you. Oh wait, yes there is!" Thea says dramatically.

"Don't be too harsh on your brother." Moira says.

"Why not? I mean aren't you getting sick of his lies?" Thea questions.

"Everyone has secrets, we all have things we'd rather keep to ourselves. But I think this is not something we should discuss while we're having a guest." Moira replies.

"Don't worry about me. I already know the gist from my chats with Thea." Ryan says sinking further into the plushy chair.

"I just don't get him sometimes." Thea complains more quietly.

"I know, I know. You know being in that hospital and seeing doctor Lang again, it made me remember the day Oliver came home." Moira tells her daughter, pulling her closer to herself.

"It was Doctor Lang that told me that the Oliver we lost, might not be the Oliver that they've found. You know it's easy to forget that he lived apart from civilization for 5 years." Moira continues.

"So what? He gets a free pass?" Thea questions.

"No,no. I just think we need to stop judging him for the Oliver he was and start accepting him for the Oliver he is." Moira tells her.

"If I may say something?" Ryan asks looking at them from the side of the chair and Moira nods at him.

"I might have information that would further help you understand Oliver, but it's your choice if you want to hear it. Laurel told me that he hides it so people don't judge him by it and see him differently so I'm guessing he wouldn't be too thrilled that I spilled the beans." Ryan tells them.

"I still want to hear it, if you think it'll help." Thea tells him.

"Yes, me too." Moira agrees.

"Alright, as you might know Oliver took a polygraph when he was accused of being the vigilante and during the test he revealed that he wasn't alone on the Island, but instead was tortured by its inhabitants. So it's safe to say that he might need some more time adjusting and maybe to start relaxing a bit. Because from what I've seen he's wound up tighter than an exploding spring." Ryan informs them.

"What? That's how he got those scars?" Moira asks shocked.

"Apparently so, look I know that doesn't mean you have to cut him some slack but believe me, he had a rougher time there than you think. I consider myself a better than average fighter but when I saw how Oliver fought with that hitman, you have to fight a lot of guys for a lot of time to get that good." Ryan tells them.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Thea asks expectantly.

"I figured it isn't my tale to tell and I couldn't have known you were in the dark until today when I heard you talking over him during lunch." Ryan tries to defend himself but Thea looks at him distrusting, suspecting he's not telling them everything.

"Alright, I think I should head out after all, it's getting dark now anyways. I had a nice time during lunch Mrs. Queen. I can show myself out." Ryan tells them politely and slips through the door, closing it behind him quietly.

"Thea, don't you want to show him outside?" Moira asks her daughter with slight surprise.

"No." Thea replies.

"Sorry, I was under the impression you were starting to like him." Moira tells her and looks back at her magazine.

"I thought so too, until he just confessed to keeping secrets from us." Thea replies disappointed.

"Well can you blame him? Oliver tried to scare him off for him having an interest in you, would you have blabbed a secret about the person who's already not too fond of you and just waits for a chance to pounce? But I guess he doesn't have to anymore now that you aren't interested in Ryan, right?" Moira asks knowingly.

"Well I didn't know he was already on Oliver's bad side." Thea says pouting a little.

"Now you know, does that influence your view of him?" Moira says looking at her daughter expectantly.

"I'll be right back." Thea tells her mother quickly as she hops out of the bed and runs after Ryan, who by now is already halfway across their entrance.

She stops shortly when she reaches the gravel road, considering shouting out to him but ignores her discomfort and goes after him barefoot.

"Hey Ryan, stop." Thea tells him once she's in hearing range.

"Huh?" Ryan asks turning around surprised and sees Thea going up to him.

"It's Christmas soon." Thea says.

"I guess." Ryan replies, not having celebrated the holiday in almost 10 years.

"Do you have anything planned for Christmas?" She asks now standing directly in front of him.

"I don't think so. The Lance's don't celebrate it anymore since their daughter died." Ryan tells her.

"OK, we probably don't do anything either, but would you like to come anyways?" Thea asks him.

"Sure, but I got the impression that you're not too happy with me just now." Ryan tells her confused.

"I just thought you were keeping things from us intentionally, but mom explained why you kept quiet." Thea tells him embarrassedly.

"OK, so we're good?" Ryan asks.

"Yes." Thea answers.

"Good, so Christmas is going to be what? Dinner? Party?" Ryan asks wanting to come prepared, since it is already in about a week.

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know, but why don't we say a date, for now." Thea tells him a grin playing at her lips.

"Date as in, you and me date?" Ryan asks pointing between them with a smile.

"Yes, a date. If you smile any wider my mom will be able to see it from her window." Thea says teasing him.

"I can't help it. I got the feeling you old thought of me as a friend and not boyfriend material." Ryan tells her.

"Yeah, well that might have been the only thing Oliver did right ever since he came back." Thea says.

"What was?" Ryan asks confused.

"He told me that if I am interested in you, I should pursue it, regardless of our different backgrounds." Thea tells him.

"You know I'd thank him, but I think I'll keep my distance from him for as long as possible." Ryan tells her with a laugh.

"You know if you want to you can come back inside." Thea tells him a slight blush developing on her cheeks.

"Thanks, but I seriously should make my way back. But first." Ryan says and picks her up, bridal carrying her back to her house.  
"You should've put on shoes. Now I know why they always call you speedy." Ryan says teasingly.

"Don't start with that! But thanks." Thea says warningly before thanking him and giving him a peck on his cheek.

"Oh and Thea, if you need anything. And I mean anything, like to talk or even just someone to drive you home from a club, you have my number." Ryan tells her before he starts his way back to his and Laurel's apartment.

* * *

AN: review and let me know what you think; also in regards to Ryan's stength I think I'll put him around Diggle's level, though not very versitail because he can't do anything other than hand to hand combat yet.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: the rest of the episode and the next happen as in canon.

Quick summary: Oliver meets Frank Bertinelli and his daughter Helena, who he quickly grows to like. He also finds out that his mothers' shooter is Helena. The two of them kill a few of Frank's men who captured her after they discovered that she was the one hunting them down. Tommy finds out that his father cut him off of his wealth and Malcom Merlin pays Moira a visit, making sure she is still sticking to their endgame. After Helena finds out that Oliver is the Arrow the two of them sleep together and he stops her from causing a war between the triades and her fathers' men. He tries to show her a more peaceful way, training her to use a crossbow and they take on some of Bertinelli's men. Oliver and Helena go on a date which is in the same restaurant as Laurel and Tommy's date. The four of them chat and Laurel asks Oliver if he has a job for Tommy at his club while Helena sees that Oliver is still in love with Laurel and stops cooperating with him to continue on her original plan, which peaks in her having her father at her mercy, threatening him with her crossbow. Oliver stops her from killing him however but her father shoots her in return and she vanishes. Meanwhile Walter finds a copy of the book Oliver has from his father and gives it to felicity so she can find out what it is. She finds out about the hidden ink and shows Walter how to read it. Tommy, after confronting Laurel makes up with her and officially gets together with her. Later on he approaches Oliver and tells him that he wants to change and asks him for a job instead of relying on him for financial support and Oliver makes him the new manager of his soon to be opened nightclub.

* * *

About a week after the who Bertinelli incident A copycat is hunting down and killing the victims Oliver as the hood spared. When Oliver and Diggle are training Diggle mentions that he's taking his nephew to the mall for Christmas and Oliver is surprised that Christmas is almost upon them and Diggle tells him to take it easy for the holidays and to spend time with his family.

When he comes home that night, he sees Thea dressed up. "Hey, you look pretty, what's the occasion?" He asks his sister.

"Oh, Mom and Dad are having a dinner with some big muckety mucks. Best night of my life." Thea tells him sarcastically.

"Thea, why aren't there any decorations up in the house?" Oliver asks her, looking around the foyer.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"No wreaths, no trees." Oliver says looking around.

"Everyone's just been really busy lately I'm sure they just haven't gotten around to it yet." Thea lies with a smile.

"Does mom still have some of those boxes of candy-canes? Remember we used to race who could finish first." Oliver asks her.

"Yeah, I always won." Thea replies.

"Nope. You cheated." Oliver tells her.

"Well, she went sugar free last year, so I doubt you'll be seeing any of those around." Thea tells him and goes to her room.

Oliver joins his parents and their guests at the dinner table, while they are talking about the hood.

"All joking aside commissioner. Crime is down for the first time in 5 years." Malcom Merlin tells him.

"That is because of the changes my department has implemented." The commissioner informs him.

"OR perhaps it's because the vigilante's activities had a chilling effect on the city's criminals." Walter suggests.

"What are your thoughts Oliver?" Malcom asks him.

"I think the vigilante needs a better codename than the hood or the hood-guy." Oliver answers.

"I agree, how about green arrow?" Malcom suggests.

"lame." Oliver replies shaking his head.

Walter then gets a call from felicity, who tells him the next name on the list, someone who is employed by his company.

An officer enters the Queens house and whispers something to the commissioner.

"I'm sorry, something's come up." The commissioner excuses himself as he leaves the table.

"Is everything OK?" Oliver asks the commissioner.

"The vigilante has struck again. He just put an arrow through Adam Hunt." The commissioner tells them and leaves with his officer.

Oliver then gets a call from Diggle and leaves, excusing himself by telling them that it's his contractor.

* * *

Oliver, telling Diggle that he already heard follows the commissioner to the crime scene and listens in on his discussion with Quentin Lance from the outside of the room's window.

Quentin informs the commissioner that the crime scene reeks of a copy-cat archer.

Oliver meets Diggle in his hideout and informs him about the other archer, saying that the copy-cat is a very good archer and a threat. Diggle asks him what he'll do about it and Oliver sends a phone to Quentin, so he can ask of him to turn over one of the archer's arrows, which might be specific, given his skill.

Quentin however refuses to work with him as they talk over the phone and Oliver tells him that he can call him if he changes his mind.

Walter calls in the person on the list and asks him about his connection to Hunt or his doings. The man freaks out after the conversation and talks to Malcom about it, who in turn murders him that night, as the copy-cat killer. Late that evening, Malcom informs Moira that Walter has continued digging around in their doings and suggests to her, that he will take care of things if she won't.

Before this Oliver is eating at Diggle's sisters' restaurant with Thea.

"I think there should be a national holiday for the guy who invented French-fries." Thea says eating her fries.

"There is no Christmas party, is there?" Oliver asks her knowingly.

"Thea, we threw them every year. Did people think I just wasn't gonna notice?" Oliver asks her.

"When you and dad disappeared and the time of Christmas rolled around, none of us felt like celebrating. So we skipped Christmas that year, every year and it's really fine. So…" Thea tells him but Oliver tells her that it's not fine and they meet with their parents because Oliver wants to tells them that he'll throw a party.

"We're celebrating Christmas. I went five years without it and then Thea tells me that you didn't have it either and that I'm the reason. So maybe I can be the reason we have Christmas again. I thought I'd throw the Queen Christmas party." Oliver tells them.

"You?" Thea asks scoffing.

"I know that I haven't been the son, step-son or the brother that all of you deserve. Especially lately, but this feels like the right moment to start making up for lost time. What do you say?" Oliver says finishing his small speech.

"I say yes." Moira agrees.

"OK, I'll take care of everything. You don't have to do anything other than show up. Look fantastic and bring some Christmas cheer." Oliver tells them and looks at Thea intently until she gives him the go ahead, not delighted by this idea.

* * *

After the Queen's employee was killed the commissioner tells Quentin to tell the public that this is the work of the hood, so panic doesn't spread over a copy-cat killer on the lose. Quentin refuses to comply and gets taken of the case. After being removed from the case he gets the burner phone and calls Oliver, telling him where he can find an arrow from the crime-scene.

Oliver gets it and goes to Felicity, to find out where the arrow came from. She gives him the address of the warehouse it was delivered to and later that evening he sneaks into the warehouse, only for it to be booby-trapped and to blow up into his face. He escapes barely, hurting his back slightly in the process.

"It isn't him is it? The man in the hood didn't kill those people." Laurel says looking at the news, where the commissioner tells everyone that the hood killed the two latest victims.

"You said he was a monster." Quentin reminds his daughter.

"Yeah, but he was protecting me. It's different." She replies.

"So guys, last chance Laurel, do you want to come? I mean I'm technically going on a date to a party but I don't see why the +1 shouldn't extend towards you." Ryan asks, having put on a pair of black jeans and a blazer, over a t-shirt but before she can answer there is a knock on the door and Laurel answers it, the two males not far behind her. When Laurel opens the door Tommy is standing there and enters, greeting Quentin nervously. "Merry Christmas sir, how are you?"

"In a profession with fire-arms." Quentin replies shaking his hand.

"We'll give you two some room to talk." Ryan says putting his arm around Quentin and pulling him away.

"I told you I wanted to spend the holidays with my dad." Laurel tells Tommy.

"Right, because of Sarah, because it makes the holidays a tough time. Though, when you are with someone as I want to be with you, there aren't tough times. There are just times. Something is holding you back. The Queens are having a last minute Christmas party and I'd like for you to be my plus one." Tommy tells her hopefully.

"Uhm, I was looking through some old photographs and I found this. Merry Christmas." Tommy tells her, handing her a gift and leaves.

"Bad enough you're friends with this guy, now you're what?" Quentin asks Laurel while Ryan motions to him to leave it be.

"I don't know what he is, but he isn't wrong. Something is holding me back." She tells him.

"Right, keep listening to that something." Quentin tells her, going back in her apartment and she reveals to him that the present is a picture of her, her sister and Quentin himself, leaving him stunned for a few seconds.

"I take it that grin means you're coming afterall?" Ryan asks seeing the smile on his sisters face.

"Give me 15 minutes." Laurel says and starts to get dressed.

* * *

|Queen mansion - that evening|

Oliver enters the house and greets Diggle in the foyer.

"I see the halls are decked." Oliver says.

"You OK?" Diggle asks.

"I'll manage. Is everybody having a good time?" Oliver replies.

"You sure you want to do this man? It may not be the best time to be Martha Stewards elf." Diggle tells him.

"My family needs this, which means I need it." Oliver tells him.

Diggle nods over to the entrance door as Ryan and Laurel arrive.

"Hey Ollie, nice to see you." Laurel says, walking off to wait for Tommy while Oliver looks at Ryan expectantly.

"Technically I'm not party crashing. Thea and I made plans two weeks ago. Anyways, she invited me. Good to see you again Oliver." Ryan says cautiously.

"I figured someone was bound to invite you with your recent heroics." Oliver says neutrally, shaking his hand while Ryan thinks 'Guess his secret hasn't come up yet. Dodged a bullet there for now.'

"And you are Diggle I suppose? I think we haven't been introduced formerly yet. Ryan Atwood." He says offering his hand to Diggle.

"John Diggle." He says shaking his hand.

Oliver leaves for the main room and the two follow him with some distance.

"So you're his bodyguard? How does that work?" Ryan asks looking at the tall man.

"What do you mean?" Diggle asks.

"Well, I've seen him fight. He's no slouch. Why the extra manpower?" Ryan asks.

"It's more for his mom's peace of mind. Technically she's my employer." Diggle informs him.

"I see." Ryan says.

While they have talked, Oliver greeted his family and they took a picture together.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Queen. These are for you. I hope you're feeling better." Ryan says handing Thea's mother some flowers.

"Oh thank you. I'll go put these in water." Moira says accepting the flowers.

"Mr. Steele, nice to see you again." Ryan says greeting Thea's step-father with a handshake before Thea gives him a hug and drags him away while he says Hi.

"Is everything alright?" Walter asks his wife.

"You and I should talk alone." She says and leaves the room.

"Is everything OK between the two of you?" Oliver asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll work itself out." Walter says following his wife.

Oliver then sees Thea pull Ryan with her upstairs, but his attention shifts to Laurel and Tommy, who just entered the room.

"So glad that both of you could make it." Oliver tells them and gives each one a hug.

"So how long do you guys think until it's not so weird, I mean the three of us." Tommy asks.

"I don't think it is." Oliver jokes and they share a laugh together.

"Tommy, do you mind if I talk to Oliver for a minute?" Laurel asks and Tommy leaves to get them a drink.

"I know it's probably not easy for you to see Tommy and I together." Laurel tells Oliver.

"The invitation said plus 1 not minus Laurel." Oliver jokes.

"I've been wanting to move forward with him but something's been holding me back. I keep making the excuses that it's my dad or my work, when really it's you. For five years I was emotionally off because you had died and the truth is the last person that I expected to make me feel again has." Laurel tells him.

"I'm happy for both of you." Oliver tells her, giving her a kiss on her cheek. He then goes to check on his sister.

* * *

Shortly before with Thea and Ryan.

"What's going on? I thought the party was downstairs?" Ryan asks surprised at Thea bringing him upstairs.

"Just follow me OK?" Thea tells him, sounding a little stressed out.

"OK, what is this about? Did you regret asking me out?" Ryan asks once they are in Thea's room and she walks over to her bed in silence, falling down on it lifelessly, face first.,

"No, no. It's not about you. I'm happy that you're here, while at the same time I'm not." Thea tells him.

"OK, you can't argue that this is a perfect case of sending mixed messages." Ryan tells her, going over to her, to sit beside her while she turns around, sitting down on the Edge of the bed.

"What I meant was that I want to go out with you. I just didn't want to do it here. This is all my brothers doing." Thea says annoyed, standing up and twirling around with her arms stretched out once before she sits down again.

"So, not something I did or didn't do?" Ryan asks cautiously.

"No, you were basically a dream come true through all of this." Thea tells him, caressing his hand.

"OK, what were your plans then, for the original date I mean?" Ryan asks.

"dinner, and maybe a Christmas movie marathon. Why?" Thea asks sounding tired.

"OK, hold on I'll be right back." Ryan tells her, leaving her room and hurriedly borrows one of the food carts, putting some of the party food on it and carries it upstairs and is on his way back to Thea's room, seeing Oliver standing in front of it and thinks to himself 'Well this spells disaster'.

When Oliver opened the door saying "Thea I have something to tell you." As he knocks, he sees his sister laying on her bed, posing in her underwear but is hurrying to put her dress back on when Oliver walks in.

"Oliver? What are you doing here?" Thea asks shocked.

"funny. I was going to ask you the same thing, because there is a party going on downstairs that I threw for you, and you are doing, what exactly?" Oliver asks her upset.

"I told you, I didn't want a party but you didn't care. Because you came down with the holiday blues. I've been trying to get you to open up for months. All this party is doing is bringing back memories I've been trying to forget." Thea tells him as Ryan arrives at her door, unknown to Ryan, having gone extra slowly to hopefully give them enough time to talk things out, but he was wrong.

"Thea, why would you wanna forget?" Oliver asks her.

"No matter how fancy the party is you throw. Things will never be the way it used to be. Ever again." Thea tells him and walks past him, to take Ryan's hand and pull him into the room but as Olvier sees him he gets angry because of how he found Thea.

"You, get out. Now!" Oliver tells him threateningly.

"Oliver, no. You leave." Thea tells him but Olivers' temper gets the best of him and he swings at Ryan while shoving Thea off of him, causing her to trip.

Ryan only sees Thea falling and catches her, as well as a punch to the back of his head, when he turned towards her.

"Ow." He says, putting his hand on the back of his head.

Oliver sees that Thea almost fell down dangerously close to the edge of a chair and apologizes frantically, before leaving quickly. As he leaves Diggle sees him and shows him a live footage of the copy-cat arrow calling him out with hostages.

"Ryan, are you OK?" Thea asks concerned when they are both standing again.

"Yeah, this is nothing." Ryan tells her, checking her over for injuries.

"Why are you checking me for injuries, I'm not the one who got sucker punched." Thea tells him slightly amused.

"Well, just incase you've hit yourself." Ryan tells her nodding to the chair behind her.

"Oh. That was close." She says shocked.

"No kidding, why did you think I'd take the punch instead of dodging it." Ryan tells her.

"Well thank you, you really are my guardian angel." Thea tells him, giving him a kiss.

"I'd rather be your boyfriend." Ryan says quietly, but Thea heard it but choses not to answer.

"Anyway, care to explain why Oliver goes from hey glad you're here to, get out now?" Ryan questions.

"I guess that's because he walked in at an particularly bad timing." Thea says embarrassed.

"What happened?" Ryan asks curiously.

"Well I thought I'd surprise you by posing on my bed." Thea tells him.

"Doesn't sound bad to me." Ryan replies confused.

"In my underwear." Thea adds embarrassed.

"Ohh, OK that explains a lot." Ryan says, his cheeks reddening.

"Anyways, back to my idea?" Ryan asks, getting a nod positive as response and he wheels in the cart with food and two plates and glasses.

"What's this?" She asks, looking at the mostly Christmas themed food.

"Well you said dinner and movie marathon. While I can't magically get a chef to cook for us. I thought we could do a mixture of both. Movies and food." Ryan suggests.

"Where did you get all of this?" She asks surprised.

"If you look waiter-ly enough no one wonders if you're taking a bunch of food." Ryan whispers into her ear playfully.

"Waiter-ly huh?" I wonder how you pulled that off." Thea says, pinching at his red and blue t-shirt

"Just trust me. If I wanted to I could totally be a waiter." Ryan replies with a smirk.

"why not mix it up? The bouncing waiter." Thea jokes, now laughing.

"Hey, that doesn't sound too bad and if people are rude I can directly give them a piece of my mind." Ryan chuckles.

"Good to see you smiling. You have a gorgeous smile." He tells her, making her say a quiet "Thanks".

"So, what do you say? Movies and food?" Ryan asks presenting a plate with cookies.

"Ah why not." Thea agrees and gets her remote, patting the other half of her bed while Ryan rolls the food cart somewhere they both can reach it.

"So any movies in mind?" Thea asks.

"You chose. I doubt I've seen any of them either way." Ryan tells her.

"OK." Thea replies happier than before as she picks out a movie.

"By the way, don't you want to know why I was in my underwear before?" Thea asks slyly, giving him a playful glance.

"I don't want to presume things, but I think I can imagine." Ryan tells her.

"And you're sure you'd rather watch movies with me than continue on with my idea?" Thea asks flirtingly.

"In this case, yes. Don't get me wrong I definitely think it was a sight for sore eyes, though I guess not for your brothers. But I don't want our first time getting physical to be because you're angry at your brother." Ryan tells her honestly.

"So, a no for now but no objections for a later date?" Thea says seductively.

"Definitely." Ryan replies, leaning over to her and gives her a kiss.

The two of them then watch a movie or two, while chatting and eating some food together.

In the meantime, downstairs Moira confronted Walter about him investigating the list and promises him to tell him everything once the party is over.

* * *

While this is going on Oliver leaves to confront his copy-cat and after rescuing the hostages, sending them to the roof of the building he starts to battle it out with the archer, who is at least a good an archer as he is, possibly even better and Oliver is on the losing end of things, with Two arrows sticking out of his shoulders, when he shoves a dart into his opponents leg as he lies on the ground and the other man is kicking him, while telling him that this is because he is taking out people from the list. Once the man is on his knees due to his leg injury Oliver knocks him in the head, knocking him out and flees through a window, falling onto a dumpster and bouncing onto the street behind it. He manages to call Diggle for help before he passes out.

* * *

|hospital|

Oliver wakes up in the hospital and Diggle tells him that he redressed him and took out the arrows, before bringing him to the hospital.

Diggle then steps aside so his family can talk to him and moves to stand next to Ryan.

"Are you alright? God you look terrible." Thea asks concerned.

"Well thank god you were wearing your helmet." Walter says relieved, making Oliver look at him quizzically until Diggle says, "I told them how you were on your motorcycle when someone pulled right in front of you."

"What were you even doing out?" Moira asks.

"You bailed on your own party." Thea adds.

"Seemed like the right mood. I mean, like you said it wasn't the best timing. And with how I lost my temper." Oliver tells them, looking mainly at Thea.

"OK, but when I was saying that, that was me being a bitch." Thea tells him apologetically.

"The truth is, I don't think any of us were at our best." Moira says.

"The real truth is, you wanted to have a party to bring us closer together, well here we are." Walter says putting his arm around his wife.

"We're gonna let you get some rest." Moira tells him, giving him a kiss on his forehead.

"So, we haven't gotten around to the exchanging presents part." Thea tells him.

"I don't think I deserve a present." He tells her guiltily.

"Look, I know that I've been hard on you. About being different than how you were. But the truth is Ollie, I'm not the same person I was five years ago either." Thea tells him.

"So maybe we can accept each other not for who we were but for the people we are now." Oliver says.

"Yeah." Thea agrees with a smile and brings out two candy canes.

"Ohh, no cheating." Oliver tells her as she gives him a hug.

"Two things though." Thea tells Oliver as she pulls away, starting to unwrap the candy canes.

"First, Ryan didn't know what I was planning when you found me. Secondly, he's my boyfriend. So, you'll probably see a lot more of him from now on and if you want me to accept the new you a good start would be you accepting my new boyfriend." Thea informs her brother while Ryan comes closer to them.

"Boyfriend huh? That's the first I'm hearing about it. Not that I'm complaining." Ryan says giving Thea a wide grin.

"Ryan." Oliver addresses him, looking him dead in the eye.

"Yeah?" Ryan answers.

"I'm sorry about what happened, I shouldn't have lost my temper. And if you so much as hurt one hair on her body I am going to kill you." He tells the blonde calmly.

"Don't worry. Right now I can't imagine anything being more important to me than Thea." Ryan tells them honestly, looking into her eyes.

"Right now huh?" Thea teases him.

"Well I don't know if Laurel falls in front of a bus tomorrow and I have to nurse her." Ryan tells her, pulling her in for a hug and giving her a kiss on her head thanks to him being taller than her.

"Oh and Oliver, your punch has gotten soft. If you want to learn how to put a little more umph behind them look me up. That goes for you too Diggle though I'd imagine your punches I'd rather dodge." Ryan tells them giving Oliver a playful wink.

"Sure, who knows maybe I'll come back to that. Now go, enjoy the rest of your date. Not too much though." Oliver says.

"Sure thing brother." Thea says as she leads Ryan out of the room.

"I've got to hand it to him. The kid's got balls." Diggle says.

"What do you think about us training him? I don't mean reveal my identity but train him so he could protect Laurel and Thea at least if push comes to shove and someone finds out about my identity?" Oliver asks his friend.

"We can see, if he is any good, I don't see any harm in changing up our hand to hand combat training." Diggle agrees.

"You just don't want to get hit with a pipe again." Oliver jokes.

The next night Malcom has Walter kidnapped and Moira demands of him that he'll be unharmed or she's out while Oliver informs Diggle that his father might not be the one who created the list.


End file.
